tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327697102600310502024-03-20T10:10:46.766-05:00What's Beyond Forks?Book news, reviews, & blurbs from a girl who likes to read a little bit of everything.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2180125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-18174632989019123072024-03-19T03:00:00.016-05:002024-03-19T20:17:49.379-05:00Book Review: Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh<div>
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<b>Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Adult Fiction (Historical)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> January 9, 2024<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Harper Muse<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Titanic was only the beginning. What she survived has become legend. What she survived has become legend. Inspired by true stories of survival and resilience, Unsinkable entwines the lives of two women, one from World War 1 and another from World War 2, as they face adversity and take hold of the second chances given to them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Violet Jessop is Miss Unsinkable.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">After her mother becomes too ill to work, the responsibility to provide for the family falls to Violet as the oldest of nine. When the world enters the Great War, she serves as a nurse, helping men who could very well be her brothers. Working as a stewardess and wartime nurse, Violet not only survives a shipwreck but also two sinkings, one on the infamous Titanic. No one can understand why she would return to sea, but something keeps drawing Violet back to the tumultuous waters, where she struggles to put the tragedies of her past behind her and pursue a life and love all her own.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Daphne has survived calamity of her own.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Daphne Chaundanson grows up as an unwanted child after her mother died in a tragedy. She throws herself into education, collecting languages like candy in a desperate attempt to finally earn her father's approval. When the Special Operations Executive invites her to be an agent in France in World War II, her childhood of anonymity and her love of languages make her the perfect fit. She sees it as an opportunity to help the country she loves and live up to her father's expectations. But the dangers of war challenge Daphne in ways she never could have expected, and the secrets from her own past must be faced for her to truly have a future beyond the conflict--if she can survive it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Inspired by true stories of Violet Jessop and the thirty-nine women of the Special Operations Executive. Two unsinkable women. Two stories of survival, family, and finding one's own happiness. One connection that reshapes both their lives forever.</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh was tricky for me to rate because I found it hard to stay focused. I’m not sure what these two women have to do with one another. Why are their stories told in fluctuating timelines within the same book? I kept waiting for something to link them in a significant way. I think I know one thing that’s a link, but it’s never specified for certain and doesn’t play a big part in the long run. So, I'm just a little confused and never really felt hooked into their lives.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The characters are likable, and they scream girl power. I also love that their stories are being told. This is fiction. Don’t get me wrong, but their stories are based on real people. The author explains it better in the book. The real women these characters are based on must have had so much mental and emotional strength. I couldn’t imagine.</div></div>
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<i>The ARC of Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh was kindly provided to me by the publisher through Net Galley for review. The opinions are my own.</i><br /><div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkHhyphenhyphen5HFrPGWTvHuU1Wq37uPOENhEcbI5vSAt3hbyMn6bPLBFhc_9B-c6krGHtW4s8TGNRI_52sg7GjkIfeQgt3hwGGjfKstjMLHWCXWdy_Pxcco38lkzE7lkqGKqQ5t3DMZgP77uwot_2fUew16AF7cDhXru3zF_2JOGmqYzZpqUc1-rSSr_bFBO5JrX/s320/Jenni%20L.%20Walsh.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkHhyphenhyphen5HFrPGWTvHuU1Wq37uPOENhEcbI5vSAt3hbyMn6bPLBFhc_9B-c6krGHtW4s8TGNRI_52sg7GjkIfeQgt3hwGGjfKstjMLHWCXWdy_Pxcco38lkzE7lkqGKqQ5t3DMZgP77uwot_2fUew16AF7cDhXru3zF_2JOGmqYzZpqUc1-rSSr_bFBO5JrX/s320/Jenni%20L.%20Walsh.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><div>Jenni L. Walsh is a USA Today bestselling author of over twelve books. Her passion lies in transporting readers to another world, be it in historical or contemporary settings. She is a proud member of the Tall Poppy writers, a graduate of Villanova University, and lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband, daughter, son, and various pets.</div><div><br /></div><div>For adults, Jenni has written historical novels Becoming Bonnie, Side by Side, A Betting Woman, The Call of the Wrens, Unsinkable, and the forthcoming Ace, Marvel, Spy. She also writes books for children, including the nonfiction She Dared series and novels Hettie and the London Blitz, I Am Defiance, By the Light of Fireflies, Over and Out, Operation: Happy, and The Bug Bandits. </div>
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To learn more about Jenni L. Walsh and her books, visit her <a href="https://www.jennilwalsh.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15139238.Jenni_L_Walsh" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jennilwalsh" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@JenniLWalshVideos" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/jennilwalsh" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-4776077203823836652023-12-18T03:00:00.010-06:002023-12-18T21:17:45.420-06:00Book Review: The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="440" height="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg880sX7zxqA3uSCb7ys77XOBxo4jE2IQSlHiZC3Z2U3IN5Y6Jmc-za3P4znYS5EBpdgaTmFfiGvk-pZkewj41iudEcd73Nty-Sxv4eEBlgW9tUKY3vhugK5cXAR03m3ybomjBz2TMZLUb7En68PLPLU5v-3Ev2Snk7KM-rToycoPwGBZYV4nv51NzZcAsP/w372-h560/The%20Hawthorne%20Legacy%20by%20Jennifer%20Lynn%20Barnes.jpg" width="372" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4x5DBRunzqI/WWBCfmWRN7I/AAAAAAAASr0/2OC56hOarmkK-Mg8Pm_Brxa4w_HmbKrQwCLcBGAs/s1600/Rating%2B5.png" /></div>
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes</b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: left;">Genre:</b><span style="text-align: left;"> Young Adult Fiction (Mystery/Romance)</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><b style="text-align: left;">Date Published:</b><span style="text-align: left;"> September 7, 2021</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><b style="text-align: left;">Publisher:</b><span style="text-align: left;"> Little, Brown Books for Young Readers</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #ffccff;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="115" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jT9WT6ZPpoU/WWBDd7EM5EI/AAAAAAAASsE/cElm4_SzEXknKjoEpP5qM-LHaE420o6OgCLcBGAs/s1600/Blurb.png" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Intrigue, riches, and romance abound in this thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Inheritance Games perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Inheritance Games ended with a bombshell, and now heiress Avery Grambs has to pick up the pieces and find the man who might hold the answers to all of her questions - including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery, a virtual stranger, rather than to his own daughters or grandsons.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Thanks to a DNA test, Avery knows that she's not a Hawthorne by blood, but clues pile up hinting at a deeper connection to the family than she had ever imagined. As the mystery grows and the plot thickens, Grayson and Jameson, the enigmatic and magnetic Hawthorne grandsons, continue to pull Avery in different directions. And there are threats lurking around every corner, as adversaries emerge who will stop at nothing to see Avery out of the picture - by any means necessary.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">With nonstop action, aspirational jet-setting, family intrigue, swoonworthy romance, and billions of dollars hanging in the balance, The Hawthorne Legacy will thrill Jennifer Lynn Barnes fans and new readers alike.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJOEbBkWffLtVSfO_O6gAhBRfUfwiOk_tDdOD4z3OId3fKl60ja5nzuLeCKsffNVdzAQxyDAOolhbNumEuIb4W2hRtxIH-h4uUy20nk4XOsWor-BNINNWYp1uSJ8dkzHER0KLe0b9jaLzxMnOTt7MSNBMvaQCEIcvJ88ETNNVbF5iVbHuXdr0jHTTCVEt/s16000/The%20Hawthorne%20Legacy%20by%20Jennifer%20Lynn%20Barnes.png" /></div></div></div><br style="text-align: left;" /><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="32" data-original-width="124" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hcDMLu3JN6M/WWBDtUPKuCI/AAAAAAAASsI/RMSshcMxqcwqkc3O4ag1WYWD2RL1RIc8gCLcBGAs/s1600/Review.png" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Hawthorne Legacy is the second book in the Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Okay so… the second book was just as good as the first. Crazy right?! There are so many twists, turns, reveals, games, puzzles….. And you feel like you're figuring things out right along with the characters. Aaah! I love it! You can guess some things along the way, but ultimately, it throws some curves. I really don’t know what to expect with this story, and that’s such a good thing!</div></div></div><div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SchhAp-dlhU/WWBGYh0cbhI/AAAAAAAASsw/ay906bR10aoQRehYPbX-den63llb5b-_gCLcBGAs/s1600/About%2Bthe%2BAuthor.png" /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsxnA18wu94gIc7VYIfqH6Rt7XFJEWVn1pTYwV6nwt_vH97zbtXIJt0GxNADkkU1MC2wCDPSYRjbd9b3UUSefkgwRWzOSwI6YnoZhPbUjnYplgIwX6MXuC5Mm6n-nsnZHFj5Bl4W5kTVxL8q3_GMcD_ijeNEQYHyF5Z0gkunvV9ms4nMPMcyPmWCTuYHs/s450/Jennifer%20Lynn%20Barnes.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsxnA18wu94gIc7VYIfqH6Rt7XFJEWVn1pTYwV6nwt_vH97zbtXIJt0GxNADkkU1MC2wCDPSYRjbd9b3UUSefkgwRWzOSwI6YnoZhPbUjnYplgIwX6MXuC5Mm6n-nsnZHFj5Bl4W5kTVxL8q3_GMcD_ijeNEQYHyF5Z0gkunvV9ms4nMPMcyPmWCTuYHs/w266-h400/Jennifer%20Lynn%20Barnes.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" width="266" /></a></div>Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) is the author of more than a dozen critically acclaimed young adult novels. She has advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science, including graduate degrees from Cambridge University, where she was a Fulbright Scholar, and Yale University, where she received her Ph.D. in 2012. Jen wrote her first published novel when she was nineteen-years-old and sold her first five books while still in college. In additional to writing YA novels, Jen has also written original pilot scripts for television networks like USA and MTV, and she is one of the world's leading experts on the psychology of fandom and the cognitive science of fiction and the imagination more broadly. Jen is an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma, where she holds a dual appointment in Psychology and Professional Writing.<br /><br />To learn more about Jennifer Lynn Barnes and her books, visit her <a href="https://www.jenniferlynnbarnes.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/164187.Jennifer_Lynn_Barnes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://jenniferlynnbarnes.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/jenlynnbarnes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><br style="text-align: left;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Buy this book at:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031610518X?tag=hacboogrosit-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z6YVjOHGpl4/Xa-T8FxzTnI/AAAAAAAAWzo/cLAJh65lFbYu9gWwbVBCbFjXqYH-8HyGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/AmazonLogo.png" width="50" /></a><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hawthorne-legacy-jennifer-lynn-barnes/1138451385?ean=9780316105187&st=AFF&2sid=Hachette%20Book%20Group_8040641_NA&sourceId=AFFHachette%20Book%20Group" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sW11xrd3a7w/Xa-TLvGD3NI/AAAAAAAAWzg/89v0DzEE7Lc5s5GRolRFofP8e4CUvJoXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/bn-button.png" width="50" /></a></div></div><br />
What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-69194041330855266362023-11-17T01:00:00.049-06:002023-12-11T21:32:36.093-06:00Book Review: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes<div>
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<b>The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Young Adult Fiction (Paranormal/Fantasy Romance)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> September 1, 2020<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Little, Brown Books for Young Readers<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why -- or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch -- and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the first book in The Inheritance Games series. This kind of reminded me of the movie, Knives Out. Only it was more serious and not as goofy as the movie. Through an inheritance from someone she’s never heard of, Avery is thrown into one giant game with a bunch of people she doesn’t know, and they don’t know her either. I have no idea who to trust. Even after finishing this book, I still don’t trust a single person. Not even her sister or best friend. I’m looking at them all with squinty eyes as I read. And the more you find out, the shiftier these folks seem. It’s really a fun book. You get to solve some of the puzzles right along with the characters. This is a keeper, and I’m anxious to get started on the next book.</div></div><div><div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsxnA18wu94gIc7VYIfqH6Rt7XFJEWVn1pTYwV6nwt_vH97zbtXIJt0GxNADkkU1MC2wCDPSYRjbd9b3UUSefkgwRWzOSwI6YnoZhPbUjnYplgIwX6MXuC5Mm6n-nsnZHFj5Bl4W5kTVxL8q3_GMcD_ijeNEQYHyF5Z0gkunvV9ms4nMPMcyPmWCTuYHs/s450/Jennifer%20Lynn%20Barnes.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsxnA18wu94gIc7VYIfqH6Rt7XFJEWVn1pTYwV6nwt_vH97zbtXIJt0GxNADkkU1MC2wCDPSYRjbd9b3UUSefkgwRWzOSwI6YnoZhPbUjnYplgIwX6MXuC5Mm6n-nsnZHFj5Bl4W5kTVxL8q3_GMcD_ijeNEQYHyF5Z0gkunvV9ms4nMPMcyPmWCTuYHs/w266-h400/Jennifer%20Lynn%20Barnes.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" width="266" /></a></div>
Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) is the author of more than a dozen critically acclaimed young adult novels. She has advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science, including graduate degrees from Cambridge University, where she was a Fulbright Scholar, and Yale University, where she received her Ph.D. in 2012. Jen wrote her first published novel when she was nineteen-years-old and sold her first five books while still in college. In additional to writing YA novels, Jen has also written original pilot scripts for television networks like USA and MTV, and she is one of the world's leading experts on the psychology of fandom and the cognitive science of fiction and the imagination more broadly. Jen is an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma, where she holds a dual appointment in Psychology and Professional Writing.<br />
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To learn more about Jennifer Lynn Barnes and her books, visit her <a href="https://www.jenniferlynnbarnes.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/164187.Jennifer_Lynn_Barnes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://jenniferlynnbarnes.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/jenlynnbarnes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Inheritance-Games-Jennifer-Lynn-Barnes/dp/1368052401/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z6YVjOHGpl4/Xa-T8FxzTnI/AAAAAAAAWzo/cLAJh65lFbYu9gWwbVBCbFjXqYH-8HyGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/AmazonLogo.png" width="50" /></a><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-inheritance-games-jennifer-lynn-barnes/1136584326?ean=9780759554085" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sW11xrd3a7w/Xa-TLvGD3NI/AAAAAAAAWzg/89v0DzEE7Lc5s5GRolRFofP8e4CUvJoXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/bn-button.png" width="50" /></a></div>What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-23789245432228504832023-11-15T02:00:00.000-06:002023-12-11T20:04:54.008-06:00Book Review: Grace by Beverley Watts <div>
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<b>Grace (Shakelford Sisters #1)by Beverley Watts</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Adult Fiction (Historical Romance)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> October 21, 2020<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> BaR Publishing<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In this funny romantic series, the Shackleford sisters descend on a Regency society that don’t know what’s hit them…</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">....Reverend Augustus Shackleford’s mission in life (aside from ensuring the collection box was suitably full every Sunday) was to secure advantageous marriages for each of his eight daughters. A tall order, given the fact that in the Reverend’s opinion they didn’t possess a single ladylike bone in the eight bodies they had between them. Quite where he would find a wealthy titled gentleman bottle headed enough to take any of them on remained a mystery and indeed was likely to test even his legendary resourcefulness.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">....Grievously wounded at the Battle of Trafalgar, Nicholas Sinclair was only recently returned to Blackmore after receiving news of his estranged father’s unexpected death. After an absence of twenty years, the new Duke was well aware it was his duty to marry and produce an heir as quickly as possible. However, tormented by recurring nightmares after his horrific experiences during the battle, Nicholas had no taste to brave the ton’s marriage mart in search of a docile obedient wife.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">…..Never in his wildest dreams did Reverend Shackleford envisage receiving an offer for his eldest daughter from the newly appointed Duke of Blackmore. Of course, the Reverend was well aware he was fudging it a bit in describing Grace as respectful, meek or dutiful, nevertheless, he could never have imagined that his eldest daughter’s unruliness might end up ruining them all….</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Grace by Beverley Watts is the first book in the Shakelford Sisters series. This was a cute, short love story. We got to know Grace a little better than the Duke, but he’s secretive, so that may be by design. Bits of his history came out later in the story. I wasn’t a fan of Grace’s father. I think he was supposed to be comic relief, but he was a bad dad. He was a stereotype. I just didn’t like him. I liked how everything wrapped up, and I’ll probably check out the other books in this series too.</div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IT0vV_smid3jHpQRaZ0h0zrGF8NFrt_V6ys9_OycdfRUxg2-ky6MibTb0H8f-9StIBm1aSjjmePZ0opwJMlLquBHVydRSn2NxCKv9e_YM-zKI89yQQN5VcFkCsLnnBLPJGbN1dGdTP41RJYBPzhmojhiMPFwn71JhqCbI-9aBxIuaCwGk0KdGTIbq8UN/s320/Beverley%20Watts.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IT0vV_smid3jHpQRaZ0h0zrGF8NFrt_V6ys9_OycdfRUxg2-ky6MibTb0H8f-9StIBm1aSjjmePZ0opwJMlLquBHVydRSn2NxCKv9e_YM-zKI89yQQN5VcFkCsLnnBLPJGbN1dGdTP41RJYBPzhmojhiMPFwn71JhqCbI-9aBxIuaCwGk0KdGTIbq8UN/s320/Beverley%20Watts.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><div>Beverley spent 8 years teaching English as a Foreign Language to International Military Students in Britannia Royal Naval College, the Royal Navy’s premier officer training establishment in the UK. She says that in the whole 8 years there was never a dull moment and many of her wonderful experiences at the College were not only memorable but were most definitely 'the stuff of fiction.' Her debut novel An Officer And A Gentleman Wanted is very loosely based on her adventures at the College.</div><div> </div><div>Beverley particularly enjoys writing books that make people laugh and currently she has two series of Romantic Comedies, both contemporary and historical, as well as a humorous cosy mystery series under her belt.</div><div> </div>She lives with her husband in an apartment overlooking the sea on the beautiful English Riviera. Between them they have 3 adult children and two gorgeous grandchildren plus a menagerie of animals including 5 dogs - 3 Romanian rescues of indeterminate breed called Florence, Trixie, and Lizzie, a neurotic 'Chorkie' named Pepé and a 'Chichon" named Dotty who was the inspiration for Dotty in The Dartmouth Diaries..<br />
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To learn more about Beverley Watts and her books, visit her <a href="https://www.beverleywatts.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7180836.Beverley_Watts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/beverley.watts2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, & <a href="https://www.instagram.com/beverleywattsauthor/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-86110690614877073542023-11-13T05:00:00.002-06:002023-11-13T19:33:02.665-06:00Book Review: Marked by K.A. Gandy<div>
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<b>Marked (Populations Crumble: Resurgence #1) by K.A. Gandy</b><br /><b>Genre:</b> Young Adult Fiction (Dystopian Romance)<br /><b>Date Published:</b> February 25, 2023<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Thigpen-Gandy Publishing<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Demy has been on the run since she was thirteen years old. Mysterious men in black cloaks have been chasing her, and so far she's evaded them. Something, though, has changed since she turned eighteen. Their attempts to capture her have gotten closer and closer, until she's only got one option left: turning herself over to the NLC, for the compulsory marriage program.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">She doesn't want to get married, but with her would-be captors on her heels, she's got no choice but to hope the NLC's strict security protocols will be a safe haven. Marriage is a small price to pay for her life, after all. And maybe, just maybe, she'll finally have the space to discover why she's being hunted.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Marked is a new entry point in the Populations Crumble world, but many familiar characters will be present from the original trilogy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6LcdA48XBBbTxAsuiwX-fH3UFqoxAnBgtpJpaQ4SmTwjjjoeiRc1wX_CncL-6jgsjqjVLekuvoDtR9yCHilUhgI2jJBN98emlANyxXDRf9TgYR28cU1Zv10f2BrU_PWN6ruNh_LcW0IyKQlh2D1wRvs9j-lDYzRSTPprsmSL1ocqFN_XBT_e4dWpXOi3/w462-h462/Marked%20by%20KA%20Gandy%20teaser.jpg" width="462" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Marked is the first book in the Populations Crumble: Resurgence Series by K.A. Gandy. I’m so glad there’s more for us in this world, because I really wanted to know how things progressed after the last trilogy. What's changed? We do get to see some of those characters too, which really adds to the fun of this book, but Demy is a fantastic character all on her own. This was an introduction to her life, and I’m really curious as to what’s going on that we don’t know yet! Who’s after her?! Why!? What?! I can’t wait for more!</div></div>
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<i>Marked by K.A. Gandy was kindly provided to me by Book Sirens for review. The opinions are my own.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Have you read the original trilogy yet?? </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2023/11/populations-crumble-ka-gandy-trilogy.html" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VVoQ3MzNSj2MQq8NlQnV0eet479NlUyXCUS8cRrQtFrFREOj2UMqf67ptYkaTmW5CA2Lbn6fvENtX8DZlh-yHJuSa_HxIzgLmka4L4FqGhtL_4GskRGZXqAUD-0rbr6-rx1H55QqVIrobbZwJfQFy2HJ3U5iv0iGGu6UOoztSMlN2h6jCAKlORGto-0i/s320/Dwindle%20trilogy%20by%20KA%20Gandy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SchhAp-dlhU/WWBGYh0cbhI/AAAAAAAASsw/ay906bR10aoQRehYPbX-den63llb5b-_gCLcBGAs/s1600/About%2Bthe%2BAuthor.png" /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcO5w-B5Vb4elytZAA9uk2zxvMyaXUpLiEvWFLWzVnps68cD6AjOmHicFwc0XXwFDJT_roJ1CCwX0ApBCKtNOmD2MWlqhyphenhyphen9ks8YYpzCkdk-FxzrTeq9z7qsytxQyeOry9JeXjPIKFmDweOYBNq0u629qnLwyVuDIensq0CzzoBGNa0OgYOczfO3sDhC1w/s320/KA%20Gandy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcO5w-B5Vb4elytZAA9uk2zxvMyaXUpLiEvWFLWzVnps68cD6AjOmHicFwc0XXwFDJT_roJ1CCwX0ApBCKtNOmD2MWlqhyphenhyphen9ks8YYpzCkdk-FxzrTeq9z7qsytxQyeOry9JeXjPIKFmDweOYBNq0u629qnLwyVuDIensq0CzzoBGNa0OgYOczfO3sDhC1w/s320/KA%20Gandy.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><div>K. A. Gandy was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. She is married with two babies of her own. K. A. has worked as a restaurant hostess, library book shelver, ranch hand, tour guide, Realtor, tech whiz, landlord, and small business consultant, all in addition to pursuing her passion of writing. As a person of many interests, her life has never been boring.</div><div><br /></div><div>She likes to write late in the evenings and thinks drinking hot tea and baking great cookies fuels hopes and dreams.</div><br />To learn more about K. A. Gandy and her books, visit her on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KAGandyAuthor/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20945272.K_A_Gandy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>.</div></div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-80322910610456895032023-11-13T03:00:00.041-06:002023-11-13T19:26:32.287-06:00Trilogy Review: Populations Crumble by K.A. Gandy<div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5120" data-original-width="3200" height="531" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvC2XPYApkMmSma1i3Uyw2pEBiBzOEU80CuWi84gH59BMfkYEByz4YN4zv5Ux1N7mYAGCFoK1bdJvxJ3coEwf5U0cNAagSkEfx6Ms-6Ius7ABkJIynSdE9ZXPIkGlX7xIS1Wkemeb5mrXN9D2VAPnVFjppRnPRXl6mRKjAab-P7Zs5FnhPYla5HeIsNNy/w332-h531/Dwindle%20bt%20KA%20Gandy.jpg" width="332" /></div>
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<b>Dwindle (Populations Crumble #1) by K.A. Gandy</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Young Adult Fiction (Dystopian Romance)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> August 1, 2022<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Thigpen-Gandy Publishing<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Humankind is in trouble. The Sterilization Vector has crippled reproduction across the globe. With the human population on the brink of utter collapse, the government has stepped in to try to save the human race.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Sadie is just one woman, but could her genes hold the key to unlocking what remains of the world's reproductive potential? Taken from her home and family, she must fight to find not just her best genetic match, but a man she can try to build a life with.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Will she be able to find someone to love, despite the odds stacked against her, or will she be one more woman swallowed up by the decline of humanity?</div></div>
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Dwindle is the first book in the Populations Crumble trilogy by K. A. Gandy. This one was pretty unique. Women are in a tough spot in this world. They’re basically brood mares. This would be hell for me. Sadie is pretty accepting of it all, but then things start changing for the worst. It kind of has a The Selection/Bachelorette feel to it, but it’s nothing like either of those really. Sure, the girls have to choose their husbands, but some don’t really even have a choice if they only have one match. Sadie gets to find out just how different she is. I enjoyed her character. Actually, I enjoyed all the characters. There were a lot to remember and some were forgettable, but I think that was by design. In a situation like this, Sadie wouldn’t have found them memorable either. I was pleasantly surprised by this story, and I’m anxious to get started on the next book in the series</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5120" data-original-width="3200" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2VNBKF0dsQvkovNPwB1uchywgsnHUndkwgNrL_qTWOCrVsmXMjokzR3V9qRCxKdSMOmyGHs6MfW43h2gNE2VvjZAe5Bki1wAsfu_MBxhiIuZXfIPZYyP4sRfI8w6MOXFadhNWr-qEHa8EO7j5hb4y_oZUPniaiDWTyIiP18H4QxFX5Rhv4Ul0PgzNOKU/w328-h524/Rise%20by%20KA%20Gandy.jpg" width="328" /><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="201" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wZ5UGUL3zR8/WWBCfjuvfMI/AAAAAAAASrw/W2GufOVLviciMJLZ-CLCu2lMee2uNzp-wCLcBGAs/s1600/Rating%2B4.png" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Rise (Populations Crumble #2) by K.A. Gandy</b><br /><b>Genre:</b> Young Adult Fiction (Dystopian Romance)<br /><b>Date Published:</b> August 1, 2022<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Thigpen-Gandy Publishing<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #ffccff;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="115" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jT9WT6ZPpoU/WWBDd7EM5EI/AAAAAAAASsE/cElm4_SzEXknKjoEpP5qM-LHaE420o6OgCLcBGAs/s1600/Blurb.png" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Humankind is in trouble. The Sterilization Vector has crippled reproduction across the globe. With the human population on the brink of utter collapse, the government has stepped in to try to save the human race.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Sadie is just one woman, but could her genes hold the key to unlocking what remains of the world's reproductive potential? Taken from her home and family, she must fight to find not just her best genetic match, but a man she can try to build a life with.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Will she be able to find someone to love, despite the odds stacked against her, or will she be one more woman swallowed up by the decline of humanity?</div></div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="32" data-original-width="124" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hcDMLu3JN6M/WWBDtUPKuCI/AAAAAAAASsI/RMSshcMxqcwqkc3O4ag1WYWD2RL1RIc8gCLcBGAs/s1600/Review.png" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Rise is book two in the Populations Crumble trilogy by K. A. Gandy. It’s honeymoon time for Sadie and Patrick. The pressure is on to get Sadie knocked up. Plus, someone is still trying to kidnap her. So much is going on here. This world sounds like my personal hell, what with the being forced to have kids thing. I wouldn't want to trade with Sadie, that's for sure. It's a bit scary too. With its government that has more power and control than sense, I could see this as a potential real life future. No thank you to that! But, it makes for an interesting read, and it’s an idea that is very believable. </div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div><div><i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5120" data-original-width="3200" height="585" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi5J6IwIntj1vTw05Wb2Tnjwap4Lp3kbLt6NtWPDmk6LHgbUYiQecKBTdCxyg6ecvyK31IUPevN8fqYVjnuGY4CJ8Z9qzBJy8uBJgP0PTtkOCrRZ7Hue5yGI6gsNV3bTDXjyR1FzMXBcKQOq0LnguB6leec2ErVMC_bnUktVpuB6Qs3sE1mfmdv-HmRw3/w366-h585/Reign%20by%20KA%20Gandy.jpg" width="366" /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4x5DBRunzqI/WWBCfmWRN7I/AAAAAAAASr0/2OC56hOarmkK-Mg8Pm_Brxa4w_HmbKrQwCLcBGAs/s1600/Rating%2B5.png" style="text-align: left;" /></div><br /></div><b>Reign (Populations Crumble #3) by K.A. Gandy</b><br /><b>Genre:</b> Young Adult Fiction (Dystopian Romance)<br /><b>Date Published:</b> August 1, 2022<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Thigpen-Gandy Publishing<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #ffccff;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="115" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jT9WT6ZPpoU/WWBDd7EM5EI/AAAAAAAASsE/cElm4_SzEXknKjoEpP5qM-LHaE420o6OgCLcBGAs/s1600/Blurb.png" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">With Patrick as the only solid ground in a sea of uncertainty, the two of them must work to come together, or they’ll fall apart. Pressure builds from all sides, and they must choose—to assume the royal mantle, or the path of freedom and anonymity. Old friends and temporary allies abound, but only one thing is someone’s lying. Who can they trust, and will Sadie find out who before she, too, becomes a captive? The spellbinding conclusion to the Populations Crumble trilogy. One-click now to start this clean dystopian romance that will keep you on the edge of your seat to the final word!</div></div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="32" data-original-width="124" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hcDMLu3JN6M/WWBDtUPKuCI/AAAAAAAASsI/RMSshcMxqcwqkc3O4ag1WYWD2RL1RIc8gCLcBGAs/s1600/Review.png" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Reign is the third book in the Populations Crumble trilogy by K. A. Gandy. There was a lot of action and goings ons in this story. I don’t know where to being, and actually there’s not much I can say without letting a spoiler slip out. I can say we meet a lot of new characters. We can’t trust all of them. There are some big reveals too. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought this was the final book, but I’m happy to say that there will be more books that take place in this world.</div></div></div><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcO5w-B5Vb4elytZAA9uk2zxvMyaXUpLiEvWFLWzVnps68cD6AjOmHicFwc0XXwFDJT_roJ1CCwX0ApBCKtNOmD2MWlqhyphenhyphen9ks8YYpzCkdk-FxzrTeq9z7qsytxQyeOry9JeXjPIKFmDweOYBNq0u629qnLwyVuDIensq0CzzoBGNa0OgYOczfO3sDhC1w/s320/KA%20Gandy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcO5w-B5Vb4elytZAA9uk2zxvMyaXUpLiEvWFLWzVnps68cD6AjOmHicFwc0XXwFDJT_roJ1CCwX0ApBCKtNOmD2MWlqhyphenhyphen9ks8YYpzCkdk-FxzrTeq9z7qsytxQyeOry9JeXjPIKFmDweOYBNq0u629qnLwyVuDIensq0CzzoBGNa0OgYOczfO3sDhC1w/s320/KA%20Gandy.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><div>K. A. Gandy was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. She is married with two babies of her own. K. A. has worked as a restaurant hostess, library book shelver, ranch hand, tour guide, Realtor, tech whiz, landlord, and small business consultant, all in addition to pursuing her passion of writing. As a person of many interests, her life has never been boring.</div><div><br /></div><div>She likes to write late in the evenings and thinks drinking hot tea and baking great cookies fuels hopes and dreams.</div>
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To learn more about K. A. Gandy and her books, visit her on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KAGandyAuthor/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20945272.K_A_Gandy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>.</div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-4238391811039449762023-08-23T04:00:00.003-05:002023-08-23T04:00:00.132-05:00Book Review: Mountains Made of Glass by Scarlett St. Clair<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="535" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyT19KVuR0QRK43BN0SCAFRyvOnCsfDSF7fBtZhonpAemdxMDJiWmAHIQPXkOlirC35goYK6yPiaPXNo-rvCSXfcxKdT7Byw9XewYQp88AOKfFB_0HRKZivBdXk75KhrToftxO2wRax3AK5wuHnyvlzU-0rfWaoVVwjjHx8SgRu-m-Ql6AB3f8_lzHMBkk/w356-h535/Mountains%20Made%20of%20Glass%20by%20Scarlett%20St.%20Clair.jpg" width="356" /><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="201" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wZ5UGUL3zR8/WWBCfjuvfMI/AAAAAAAASrw/W2GufOVLviciMJLZ-CLCu2lMee2uNzp-wCLcBGAs/s1600/Rating%2B4.png" style="text-align: left;" /></div>
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<b>Mountains Made of Glass (Fairy Tale Retellings #1) by Scarlett St. Clair</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Adult Fiction (Fantasy Romance)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> March 7, 2023<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Bloom Books<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>"Could you love me?" he whispered. The question stole my breath and burned my lungs in the silence that followed.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>I wanted to answer, to whisper yes into the space between us, but I was afraid.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">All Gesela's life, her home village of Elk has been cursed. And it isn't a single curse—it is one after another, each to be broken by a villager, each with devastating consequences. When Elk's well goes dry, it is Gesela's turn to save her town by killing the toad that lives at the bottom. Except… the toad is not a toad at all. He is an Elven prince under a curse of his own, and upon his death, his brothers come for Gesela, seeking retribution.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As punishment, the princes banish Gesela to live with their seventh brother, the one they call the beast. Gesela expects to be the prisoner of a hideous monster, but the beast turns out to be exquisitely beautiful, and rather than lock her in a cell, he offers Gesela a deal. If she can guess his true name in seven days, she can go free.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Gesela agrees, but there is a hidden catch—she must speak his name with love in order to free him, too.</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mountains Made of Glass off the first book in the Fairy Tale Retellings series by Scarlett St. Clair. I thought this was going to be a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but as it turns out, it was kind of a mix out tales. The story and the characters were pretty well built. I liked that Gasela wasn’t this damsel in distress. It was also a bit of a naughty little story. I felt like the pacing was pretty good for a shorter story like this, except for maybe the romance it self. To me, it felt pretty rushed in the end. All in all? Pretty good. I’d be curious to see what’s next in this series</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh019YCrHEMCeSskMcojSaAYKgtHQTljGfADpZln6yFUHZsXF7rPACEX8joQL-nOEHlOiD-QVEKgI5N7JKDolBKQnUnn6VdqmP5g4uePlyDEBKhz0dxdgJTa6SxIJqttw1ytVks1FP4MjD1bX_i0G-oSuTPZGtYyUqDinOSqiXo3ukN5bLuzH_mNSKoJmS_/w482-h482/Mountains%20Made%20of%20Glass%20by%20Scarlett%20St.%20Clair%20teaser.jpg" width="482" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="87" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UU2fgpVAG68/WWBEF6c96sI/AAAAAAAASsM/-4KYOOlaWLEXC-JC5XBAF0DxNDJ7yYoUQCLcBGAs/s1600/Excerpt.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eOD-XU8gkQY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br />
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<img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SchhAp-dlhU/WWBGYh0cbhI/AAAAAAAASsw/ay906bR10aoQRehYPbX-den63llb5b-_gCLcBGAs/s1600/About%2Bthe%2BAuthor.png" /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBIIeaOgjHkiNOoLI7LSt5DZsNsnaIyr_9ZU3FmbD24jqOAHSk_fZWcXLjCKyVZqhpvxOKWViRNs9_tvFeHmrYYOwvo3y2kTVj_94WBtbE8aiTiL3OPmY1PRLKOFSDdgGQwsfGM8XBPH5kgf_Tv1Cu1lGWhFySziyDEf94AmApfoqzi2HoSP19i7gNevk/s320/Scarlett%20St.%20Clair.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBIIeaOgjHkiNOoLI7LSt5DZsNsnaIyr_9ZU3FmbD24jqOAHSk_fZWcXLjCKyVZqhpvxOKWViRNs9_tvFeHmrYYOwvo3y2kTVj_94WBtbE8aiTiL3OPmY1PRLKOFSDdgGQwsfGM8XBPH5kgf_Tv1Cu1lGWhFySziyDEf94AmApfoqzi2HoSP19i7gNevk/s320/Scarlett%20St.%20Clair.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><div>USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Scarlett St. Clair was born and raised in Oklahoma and is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation. She is the author of several books, including A TOUCH OF DARKNESS, KING OF BATTLE AND BLOOD, and WHEN STARS COME OUT. Originally self-published, Scarlett’s books ignited readers into a frenzy, and A TOUCH OF DARKNESS quickly became a TikTok-trending title. Scarlett rocketed to the top of bestseller lists across the industry 2021, leading the prolific and popular author to sign with the Bloom Books imprint of Sourcebooks. </div><div><br /></div><div>Scarlett is published in more than 13 countries. With millions of copies of her books sold around the world, she is a global bestseller.</div><div><br /></div><div>The author is a fierce advocate of inclusivity in all her creative endeavors; her books celebrate agency, sex positivity and female empowerment.</div>
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To learn more about Scarlett St. Clair and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18145334.Scarlett_St_Clair" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorscarlettstclair/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/authorscarlettstclair/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://authorscarlettstclair.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/scarlettstclai1?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div></div>
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<b>The Watchers by A.M. Shine</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Adult Fiction (Horror)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> October 14, 2021<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Head of Zeus<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This forest isn't charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina's is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans—and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn't reach the bunker in time.</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Watchers is the debut novel by A.M. Shine. It's a story with a great premise, but a whole lot of down time where not much happens. Once you get past the first half, things start to get more interesting. The Watchers are creepy and extremely intriguing. The more you learn about them , the more I wanted to know. The evil buggers. I want to know if the character's theory of what they are is actually what they are. I really liked the last quarter of the book. That ending leaves so much room for a sequel. And, I really do want to know what happens next. It left a pretty abrupt cliffhanger. I read to escape reality, yet I want the book to be believable at the same time. It's a fine line, and I feel like The Watchers dances along that line perfectly. <br /><br />After reading this book, I found out it's going to be made into a movie directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan. I love her father's movies, so I'm pretty excited to see what she'll do with it as her directorial debut.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="619" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0i7LI64RP-pF_mKtwYpKYuMO5Z7iA-At0GTooDI5I6eTTHZ8UhLO_i7VcZGttsKb1bg6UiHc3YMjgIBi5zgKMuIQdNSsSAZNhgUEDk12YCmWPoHjwjhLl3p8uFYa0JROHjuUqAm9yHsn2bf9X6iV58LlyG_Ic9_Z1IcVZttgjOlRLQTSUpzxAEhu17z9/w474-h273/The%20Watchers%20by%20A.M.%20Shine%20tease%202.jpg" width="474" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div>
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A. M. Shine is an author of Literary Horror from the west of Ireland. It was there that at a young age he discovered a passion for classic horror stories, and where he received his Masters in history, before ultimately sharpening his quill to pursue a life devoted to all things literary and macabre. His writing is inspired by the trinity of horror, history, and superstition, and he has tormented, toyed with, and tortured more characters than he will ever confess to.<br />
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To learn more about A. M. Shine and his books, visit his website. You can also find him on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7396492.A_M_Shine" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/amshinewriter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nocturn_al_shine/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/AMShineWriter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Watchers-gripping-debut-horror-novel-ebook/dp/B08TP9ZQY5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z6YVjOHGpl4/Xa-T8FxzTnI/AAAAAAAAWzo/cLAJh65lFbYu9gWwbVBCbFjXqYH-8HyGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/AmazonLogo.png" width="50" /></a><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-watchers-am-shine/1138717473" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sW11xrd3a7w/Xa-TLvGD3NI/AAAAAAAAWzg/89v0DzEE7Lc5s5GRolRFofP8e4CUvJoXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/bn-button.png" width="50" /></a><a href="https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Watchers/A-M-Shine/9781801102124" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="64" data-original-width="167" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DJkOywTdX08/XqpBM6MHPLI/AAAAAAAAXSo/E7E9qaYEHzY460J3M5W6b1bmy0GUeZ__ACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Books-A-Million_logo_font.png" width="150" /></a><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Watchers.html?id=8yRpzgEACAAJ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aKvXehvnTWc/XdyE-BwxwCI/AAAAAAAAW3E/ZQOHlF_p2DI8Qgg_WHUigLm0kJH9drqKgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/google%2Bplay.png" width="50" /></a><a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-watchers-51" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tUldlc-A68/Xa-UzWgWdNI/AAAAAAAAWz4/1B9lWJklybk7g53-55Wz59UBPWwAgj1uQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/kobo-logo.png" width="50" /></a></div>What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-90948807052104370952023-08-17T04:00:00.029-05:002023-08-17T04:00:00.132-05:00Book Review: More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell<div>
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<b>More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Adult Non-fiction (Christian)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> January 1, 1977<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Living Books<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">With almost ten million copies in print, More Than a Carpenter continues to be the most powerful evangelism tool worldwide. Josh McDowell's timeless examination of the true nature of Christ and his impact on our lives is one of the best-selling Christian books ever. Written by a former skeptic of Christianity, it is a hard-hitting book for those who doubt Jesus' deity and his purpose.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell is the perfect book for skeptics and doubters. We all have questions. I know I do. This was like a Bible study for me to do on my own. Did it answer all my questions? No. Of course not, but it put a lot of things in perspective. It’s a short read that’ll leave you thinking for a long time.</div></div><div><div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZNq8xfjpqJJMcYwkQWg9QUhSWFRs-L4LOXYQA3rCYYNo8DXyb5TSUfbUyrBhlGJTjP4BEuXHQKxJMfFL8LlIaiWXLmUUi2uKSwdnQk5E03xhGHrzDCKqNdxnQj4wEg1mX8nYJtmuw7RdZvj43EZOa_2kYYHMhV4AMM4rNgsyTpK_Unpdhv8KfGGcwfGk/s1600/Josh%20McDowell.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZNq8xfjpqJJMcYwkQWg9QUhSWFRs-L4LOXYQA3rCYYNo8DXyb5TSUfbUyrBhlGJTjP4BEuXHQKxJMfFL8LlIaiWXLmUUi2uKSwdnQk5E03xhGHrzDCKqNdxnQj4wEg1mX8nYJtmuw7RdZvj43EZOa_2kYYHMhV4AMM4rNgsyTpK_Unpdhv8KfGGcwfGk/s1600/Josh%20McDowell.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><div>Since beginning ministry in 1961, Josh has given more than 24,000 talks to over 10 million young people in 118 countries. He is the author or coauthor of 112 books, selling over 51 million copies worldwide, including More Than a Carpenter (more than 15 million copies in print worldwide), which has been translated into over 85 languages, and The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, recognized by World magazine as one of the twentieth century's top 40 books.</div><div><br /></div><div>Josh continues to travel throughout the United States and countries around the world, helping young people and adults bolster their faith and scriptural beliefs. Josh will tell you that his family does not come before his ministry—his family is his ministry. He and his wife, Dottie, have four children and eight grandchildren.</div>
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To learn more about Josh McDowell and her books, visit her <a href="https://www.josh.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4314.Josh_McDowell" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jmministry/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://instagram.com/joshdmcdowell/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/JoshMcDowell" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/joshmcdowell/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/josh_mcdowell" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-65143088832738368782023-08-16T20:22:00.000-05:002023-08-16T20:22:13.631-05:00Book Review: Cherish by Tracy Wolff<div>
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<b>Cherish (Crave #6) by Tracy Wolff</b><br /><b>Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal Romance)</b><br /><b>Date Published:</b> May 30, 2023<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Entangled: Teen<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The sensational conclusion to the massive #1 New York Times bestselling series…</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It’s been over three months since my friends and I took down Cyrus. Three months where my biggest fear was what paper was due next... But I should have known it was too good to last. Now everything is falling apart.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Vampire Court has no king, the Dragon Court has no heart, and the Gargoyle Court has me—a teenager in way over her head. And it’s the worst possible timing, because a threat is brewing just as the Circle is collapsing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I have no choice but to return to the Shadow Realm and face the terrifying queen who nearly ended us…and make a deal with her to save Mekhi. But this time, I’m bringing my powerful friends with me—and Hudson. Except something is wrong with him, too. He’s keeping a secret—even from me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">All I know is that everyone’s life hangs in the balance. And it’s my fault—because I still owe the Crone a favor...and now she’s come to collect.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="870" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqtbNTQoLc58YwVXiaZ4OY4TG21p2wUE4bvZjKgV8jjRrzQyb-TmjuhUvzyXLGCJK9YKX5YXJqdX0eqJ29iCmii2W4A3v2rdmc7xxuK7CI9qhy8NVT4qaeO13DCrYfMA40yusH4dmLLFkrbKtkKFU38bnFgoIfBEFlk860Si5MlZjpISiUQ0eoENSpYvP/w440-h441/Cherish%20by%20Tracy%20Wolff%20teaser.png" width="440" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Cherish is the sixth and final book in the Crave series by Tracy Wolff. I had a really hard time getting into this one. I don’t know. I just felt like not a lot happened through three quarters of it. I was expecting a big finale, but it all kind of fell short for me. I still love Grace and Hudson. I like the overall conclusion enough, but I was disappointed in the draggy process of getting there. Maybe it’s just me, but I needed more significant action to carry me through to the end.</div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Have you read the other books in this series?</b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2020/12/book-review-crave-by-tracy-wolff.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zep3NVhcVIQ/X-fUeH0LilI/AAAAAAAAXw8/H2qRh6xUNwsimMvPP9iznkEI4hCeepHQgCLcBGAsYHQ/w214-h320/Crave%2Bby%2BTracy%2BWolff.jpg" width="214" /></a><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2021/05/book-review-crush-by-tracy-wolff.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oDzqITteW2c/YKr9wck7fvI/AAAAAAAAYDw/irT2u8w2y7csS3-tvpLSPB7gnHNd0seEQCLcBGAsYHQ/w214-h320/Crush%2Bby%2BTracy%2BWolff.jpg" width="214" /></a><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2021/12/book-review-covet-by-tracy-wolff.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RYEIsmr5QU4/YaVFof8NhoI/AAAAAAAAYxE/QGHUUu5WX78RnbdLCYk3ddBL0feBZ8I2wCLcBGAsYHQ/w214-h320/Covet%2Bby%2BTracy%2BWolff.jpg" width="214" /></a><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2023/04/book-review-charm-by-tracy-wolff.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYerYKxgG3I_p-YiweuAkEZ50LDTBOKWvvI4mZfD4j7ILtFBeTyRratNeVIHbGVAc5Magq4mm2Xo2mvn626f7lWtoQCyAEFVseQOs1Cg3r-3GKszMgmkGzSL8IRgxlh6VGsXMkyxcjTdHL7VI6cHSgU1jyWroZxGvdG78njH53EkNuRB6mhkcs7wKiBA/w213-h320/Charm%20by%20Tracy%20Wolff.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2022/11/book-review-court-by-tracy-wolff.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTY9JPFocAHm-UpMIqwqC5K6zlIbmViWX-iExtPiMMOo-O0I2fHFWvUNLBNLMBzzkrdlFh0J7YFjw8EzJxsK2_Bt-Ks98dhm-bqAmSX5EvBFsBeSUlEHLYbK0mh9G5fg_1GXL5JjP1ihX66dVEOYAwPu9eHQAnR9FMGJR1T1xOaTFOdVhJ3uBZLmrhg/w212-h320/Court%20by%20Tracy%20Wolff.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SchhAp-dlhU/WWBGYh0cbhI/AAAAAAAASsw/ay906bR10aoQRehYPbX-den63llb5b-_gCLcBGAs/s1600/About%2Bthe%2BAuthor.png" /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1Gpq3GUGfU/X-fVSIJI1lI/AAAAAAAAXxE/S2Onn1TZkFYI7TnzoLZZ8uDb74N_7Z_1gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Tracy%2BWolff.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1Gpq3GUGfU/X-fVSIJI1lI/AAAAAAAAXxE/S2Onn1TZkFYI7TnzoLZZ8uDb74N_7Z_1gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Tracy%2BWolff.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Tracy Wolff is a lover of vampires, dragons, and all things that go bump in the night. A onetime English professor, she now devotes all her time to writing dark and romantic stories with tortured heroes and kick-butt heroines. She has written all her sixty-plus novels from her home in Austin, Texas, which she shares with her family.</div><br />To learn more about Tracy Wolff and her books, visit her <a href="https://tracywolffauthor.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2003596.Tracy_Wolff" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TracyWolffAuthor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tracywolffbooks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/TracyWolff" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div></div></div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-23832011339559895852023-08-12T15:13:00.000-05:002023-08-12T15:13:05.266-05:00Book Review: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo<div>
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<b>Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #2) by Leigh Bardugo</b><br /><b>Genre:</b> Young Adult Fiction (Fantasy Romance)<br /><b>Date Published:</b> June 4, 2013<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Henry Holt & Company<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Darkness never dies.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAwFg7wtIOCGE8UowvdN81CgY8a2HAJhQpOjJRyvTH8jbi1hhODu_TGH6V2pk6XwC8LyOTqV3b60wcO_zAU7XdIrSZ8yzjCn1qHEVC7AXPZG6TlsUD1XYH2CAd4c-g-G5ORWIDuisTp-Jg_M44JoIAfZ125oXa02vH9ox6_mNNuitG5DD3iAURum27noi/w528-h264/Siege%20and%20Storm%20teaser%202.jpg" width="528" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Siege and Storm is the second book in theThe Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. I'm loving this series. Just when you think things can't get worse for these characters, it does, and I have no idea how they're all going to get out of certain circumstances. There was a bit of a lag towards the middle of this book, but then things picked up again, and the situation got crazier. I love all the characters, even the bad ones. They all have layers. They all have flaws. They're all believable. I'm not sure if the romance aspect is a triangle or a square.. I really don't know what you'd call it, and I don't know whose team I'm on, because I like things about all of them. This is craziness!! But, I'm loving every minute of it!</div></div><div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fIeVGuTG8Jy1DfHZVh45RNqJBMsiwlpnIt87H1rCLkJVrt48RtpErz8ZKrxOSJdy1iJByORxaDtM3H6eujDnocX_dcJwqW_x5eKJVAfxCOrh7qA5OxKheCFYdhiGHGUYBZcC_ShtoKPDAe6LXUvH8lPumtN2jjG5PwX1BoLYiwgWnEmgwSmprW38MzYY/w546-h273/Siege%20and%20Storm%20teaser.jpg" width="546" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Have you read the first book?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2023/04/review-shadow-and-bone-by-leigh-bardugo.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgI0u4l_2NXykv8EVTDAC7IYHHISb9fUF2EoHhhv4xYgB4fDibxC9rHkZL8WP0UeND1WObrKtpoZ_L7SeOHYmMrWwuL1pGfRm-WbBFVy2m6rBnJvP7XkHrFguIjMEubiRxvfBZ6bivYYkgHHNlfiOyyMQFUOBP1uar3PGjoY-A0gbLoX1zM43XuCghAg/w213-h320/Shadow%20and%20Bone%20by%20Leigh%20Bardugo.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SchhAp-dlhU/WWBGYh0cbhI/AAAAAAAASsw/ay906bR10aoQRehYPbX-den63llb5b-_gCLcBGAs/s1600/About%2Bthe%2BAuthor.png" /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygJY88_n88_kmKqGYVke6VrfVqZHs2DH2Xua-G6-HneeceG5A3wLux-FooNsboVymvuuyyvaxGsL-4-HlsLWdJ6Bv6dEXoh9TiM9sds1JOIFruwe7vMsIoEkaM-o5v6SbXSXdZV4MbPfV8LXjSMb_daMXO6xq0KrYDxy_obI3RR1fr6oUXClbmWKKcQ/s320/Leigh%20Bardugo.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygJY88_n88_kmKqGYVke6VrfVqZHs2DH2Xua-G6-HneeceG5A3wLux-FooNsboVymvuuyyvaxGsL-4-HlsLWdJ6Bv6dEXoh9TiM9sds1JOIFruwe7vMsIoEkaM-o5v6SbXSXdZV4MbPfV8LXjSMb_daMXO6xq0KrYDxy_obI3RR1fr6oUXClbmWKKcQ/s320/Leigh%20Bardugo.png" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div>Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology—and much more. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University. <br /><br />To learn more about Leigh Bardugo and her books, visit her <a href="http://leighbardugo.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4575289.Leigh_Bardugo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GrishaTrilogy?ref=ts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/Lbardugo/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/LBardugo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div></div></div><br /></div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-48663048890213129232023-05-18T02:30:00.001-05:002023-05-18T02:30:00.156-05:00Book Review: If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin<div>
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<b>If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Young Adult Fiction (Contemporary)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> April 1, 2013<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Sourcebooks Fire<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>If he had been with me everything would have been different...</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know—the cause of the argument—is crucial.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So let me tell you...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin was a book I knew would be heartbreaking after reading the blurb, and I usually wouldn't even pick up a book like this, but I liked the name and the cover... I was lured in by it! I had a really hard time staying focused on this book. There was a lot of Autumn's day to day life as she went through high school. Most of us are living it or have lived through high school. We know how it goes, and some of that detail is necessary to make a story. I get that, but this was a LOT. With that being said, Autumn is a very believable character. You can feel her growing pains as she navigates life. For me, she lost some of her realism in the end. She goes to two emotional extremes so fast. It didn't make sense, and after taking soooo long to get to this point in the book, the actual ending was very rushed. I really enjoyed the author's writing style though... and how she builds her characters in a way that makes you feel like you know them. </div></div><div><div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08QNJ6m6x7x47JvwDPw-HGqgiPetTkStaNqt5tM-rd2io1rNiIUHXKeEDpEpuHRiYUsarqkvsn3umj-G0sxXJLovSwvnP4HIthtAVNQTr2UMlk7ulS8YFifVgYCCw7yx240uZPGrgAXAIn_DJz3-ZDF0Wc-zM7o8j54Ra7f7w8pZ7MA7SL6TiWJWxxQ/s320/Laura%20Nowlin.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08QNJ6m6x7x47JvwDPw-HGqgiPetTkStaNqt5tM-rd2io1rNiIUHXKeEDpEpuHRiYUsarqkvsn3umj-G0sxXJLovSwvnP4HIthtAVNQTr2UMlk7ulS8YFifVgYCCw7yx240uZPGrgAXAIn_DJz3-ZDF0Wc-zM7o8j54Ra7f7w8pZ7MA7SL6TiWJWxxQ/s320/Laura%20Nowlin.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div>
Laura Nowlin is the NYT bestselling author of If He had Been with Me and This Song is Not for You. She holds a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Missouri State University. When she isn’t at home agonizing over her own novels Laura works at the public library where the patrons give her plenty of inspiration for her writing. She lives in St. Louis with her family.<br />
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To learn more about Laura Nowlin and her books, visit her <a href="https://laurarosener.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6472187.Laura_Nowlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, BookBub, YouTube, Pinterest, and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Laura_Nowlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-76092055953637862802023-05-16T03:00:00.006-05:002023-05-16T19:04:21.833-05:00Book Review: Wicked Women of the Bible by Ann Spangler<div>
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<b>Wicked Women of the Bible by Ann Spangler</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Adult Fiction/Non-Fiction (Historical/Christian)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> September 22, 2015<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Zondervan<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">What can Jezebel, the Bible s wickedest queen, reveal about God s holiness and power and even about his sense of humor? What about the Woman at the Well the one with five husbands and a live-in lover? And what of the prostitute whose tears bathe the feet of Jesus in front of people who despise her?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">There are also wicked good women like Deborah, Ruth, Hannah, Abigail, Esther, Mary, and more. What do their lives tell us about God s invincible love and his determined plan to save us?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In Wicked Women of the Bible Ann Spangler tells the stories of twenty wicked and wicked good women in greater detail. At the end of each story, Ann provides a brief section including additional historical and cultural background as well as a brief Bible study in order to enhance the book s appeal to both individuals and groups.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The stories of these women of the Bible reveal a God who is not above it all but who stoops down to meet us where we are in order to extend his love and mercy."</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Wicked Women of the Bible by Ann Spangler gives us a brief look into the lives of many women of the Bible. Each woman's story isn't very long, but let's face it, we don't have too many details on many of them either, so this book takes what we know happened and fictionally fills in some of those spaces with what might have happened or been said. This is a combination of fiction and non fiction, because along with these stories with their fictional aspects, the book also give an account of the times. I love books like this, because it brings Biblical people to life and makes me search the Bible for more info on them. It's always interesting to see how people so far back in history really aren't that different from us today. We make the same mistakes... do the same stupid things. Good or wicked... we're all still people, no matter what time period we lived in.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDPC0qeIvODoqOatLeQVXPHyf_1hFSEOqZ7cF99WFRubrNpYUydvZdwIF0r1iEtX8XZrMEx0Jbaf-QYQhMf3QOlZ6SGh3qkzStzlq5d9iy1JGfpvqX_8WwmN8EHgjmQMVD4bnDQ0T4s7ifIQmbEbr0GUnzh14AGd0aov-ZZjF1hVVTMrzmVb_RsTmIA/w400-h400/Wicked%20Women%20of%20the%20Bible%20by%20Ann%20Spangler%20teaser%202.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="136" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O4M9wbHPP8g/WWBFA1c3RoI/AAAAAAAASsg/7hQ2XtxqGlsjrJTwDA_KrCRq7IybLtOIwCLcBGAs/s1600/Book%2BTrailer.png" /> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPao0-6w9vtSkF1CKa6UW8rE6ahiXtKEHFQVPxYR8HSApv1U825xhzmAhOWoCxGb_auRqJfPfzPG9J-mi-rk01CC6EHq5KDQJHZVAZ9CU1SVz3yPgrPKZk03W2DSTK2mbMddv34fdQ1GDaPNjGRbK6AJsT4VpU-n_oTTZZ4HjQzzT0UNWX3A8OnnSNQ/s1600/website-2019-with-glasses.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPao0-6w9vtSkF1CKa6UW8rE6ahiXtKEHFQVPxYR8HSApv1U825xhzmAhOWoCxGb_auRqJfPfzPG9J-mi-rk01CC6EHq5KDQJHZVAZ9CU1SVz3yPgrPKZk03W2DSTK2mbMddv34fdQ1GDaPNjGRbK6AJsT4VpU-n_oTTZZ4HjQzzT0UNWX3A8OnnSNQ/s1600/website-2019-with-glasses.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><div>Ann Spangler is the best-selling author of numerous books, including Praying the Names of God, Women of the Bible, and Finding the Peace God Promises. An award-winning writer, Ann’s books have sold millions of copies over the course of her writing career. The mission of her books is to help readers strengthen their connection with God by encountering him in Scripture.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before becoming a writer, Ann was an acquiring editor at various Christian publishers. From her unique perspective as an author and publishing professional, she believes readers are looking for well-written books that address the deep spiritual hungers that characterize our world.</div><div><br /></div><div>She is the mother of two teenage daughters, both of whom were born in mainland China. In her spare time (what is spare time?), she loves to read, have dinner with friends, spend time on Lake Michigan’s beautiful beaches, travel, and stream British TV shows. An admitted Anglophile, she harbors deep prejudices in favor of anything British.</div>
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To learn more about Ann Spangler and her books, visit her <a href="https://www.annspangler.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/100763.Ann_Spangler" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AnnSpanglerAuthor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/annspangler" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-448447632734353862023-05-04T03:30:00.025-05:002023-05-04T19:27:34.324-05:00Book Review: The Silent Woman by Minka Kent<div>
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<b>The Silent Woman by Minka Kent</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Adult Fiction (Mystery)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> September 27, 2022<br />
<b>Audiobook Publisher:</b> Blackstone Publishing<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Newlywed Jade Westmore has finally found her forever in husband Wells, a charming, successful, and recently divorced architect—only there’s one caveat. Behind the gates of their elysian estate, hidden from street view in the caretaker’s cottage … lives Wells’ first wife, Sylvie.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Three years ago, the original Mrs. Westmore suffered an unfortunate accident—and hasn’t uttered a sound since. Not a physician, psychologist, or world-renown specialist has been able to elicit so much as a word from the silent woman … until now.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">On an ordinary Tuesday while Wells was away—despite instructions to never disturb the fragile woman—Jade visited her isolated predecessor bearing a peace offering: a bouquet of white lilies. Only she wasn’t expecting Sylvie to have something for her as well: a slip of torn notebook paper with a single word scrawled in shaky black ink.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">That word? Run.</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Silent Woman by Minka Kent is a mystery that will keep you reading until the end. I wouldn't call this one a thriller, as the 'thriller' aspect was pretty short. I figured out bits of the mystery pretty easily. I knew who committed the actual crime the moment they appeared. I just knew it had to be that person. I really expected one thing to be different. I REALLY did! And I wish I could say what that one thing is, but dang it.. I can't! Honestly, I'm a little disappointed, and I can't say why either! Uggh! This is rough! So, I'll say this... All in all, even though it was fairly easy to predict, it was entertaining. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, and I'd pick up another book by this author.</div></div><div><div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4oau8Otftrf8HMHk30aEExKB4VVgHe9MaINVi-eqfsHyVU9LJFy8Hddgzzhnf-37EgwGSgu0p03h9SdZTID47eIg9FyRTROKn8lgmrqBJ1OagZ9P8NNMR_WlzzCQ46l4ae_5Agib7y5u89UFDiMZ4TfSicyWgXXALyDvkpKqhdfkvyHKUXgd5GOUxFg/s1600/Minka%20Kent.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4oau8Otftrf8HMHk30aEExKB4VVgHe9MaINVi-eqfsHyVU9LJFy8Hddgzzhnf-37EgwGSgu0p03h9SdZTID47eIg9FyRTROKn8lgmrqBJ1OagZ9P8NNMR_WlzzCQ46l4ae_5Agib7y5u89UFDiMZ4TfSicyWgXXALyDvkpKqhdfkvyHKUXgd5GOUxFg/s1600/Minka%20Kent.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><div>Minka Kent has been crafting stories since before she could scribble her name. With a love of the literary dark and twisted, Minka cut her teeth on Goosebumps and Fear Street, graduated to Stephen King as a teenager, and now counts Gillian Flynn, Chevy Stevens, and Caroline Kepnes amongst her favorite authors and biggest influences. Minka has always been curious about good people who do bad things and loves to explore what happens when larger-than-life characters are placed in fascinating situations.</div><div><br /></div><div>In her non-writing life, Minka is a thirty-something wife and mother who equally enjoys sunny and rainy days, loves freshly cut hydrangeas, hides behind oversized sunglasses, travels to warmer climates every chance she gets, and bakes sweet treats when the mood strikes (spoiler alert: it’s often).</div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-47228053968604787982023-04-21T03:30:00.048-05:002023-04-21T19:24:36.523-05:00Book Review: Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry<div>
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<b>Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Middle Grade Fiction <br />
<b>Date Published:</b> March 14, 2017<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Feiwel & Friends<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">A girl with Tourette syndrome starts at a new school and tries to hide her quirks in this debut middle-grade novel in verse.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Astronomy-loving Calliope June has Tourette syndrome, so she sometimes makes faces or noises that she doesn't mean to make. When she and her mother move yet again, she tries to hide her TS. But it isn't long before the kids at her new school realize she's different. Only Calli's neighbor, who is also the popular student body president, sees her as she truly is—an interesting person and a good friend. But is he brave enough to take their friendship public?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As Calli navigates school, she must also face her mother's new relationship and the fact that she might be moving, again, just as she starts to make friends and finally accept her differences.</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Forget Me Not is a debut novel by Ellie Terry. This is a story of a young girl with Tourette’s Syndrome and how she copes with life. I wish there could have been a decent adult in her life. I understand her teachers and admin not understanding what was going on. Especially since she and her mother were attempting to keep it secret, but her therapist was also a disappointment. Her mother had no redeeming qualities. She was selfish and pretty useless. So, Calli's forced to figure out a lot of things on her own. It’s written as a short story, and things were definitely rushed a bit, but it also felt like it was unfinished in the end. I mean there was a clear ending, but it all wrapped up so quickly, and it just felt rushed and like something was missing. It's great that she helped herself.. sorta, but that's not realistic for most people.. and certainly not one so young. I wanted the book to show how she could get help. I'm sure there are young people out there that could benefit from some guidance. I love the concept and the characters. I just feel like it needed more. </div><div><br /></div></div><div>
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Ellie Terry writes heartfelt contemporary fiction for middle-grade readers. Her middle-grade debut, a verse novel titled FORGET ME NOT, was published in 2017 by Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan. She lives in southern Utah with one husband, three kids, a dog, a hamster, and a snail.<br />
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To learn more about Ellie Terry and her books, visit her <a href="https://ellieterry.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14157664.Ellie_Terry" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ellieaskerothterry" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ellieterrybooks/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCubMnSiNgtP4YcTic5WjJuQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellieterrybooks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-9880631343218210922023-04-20T03:00:00.001-05:002023-04-20T03:00:00.246-05:00 Book Review: Turned by Morgan Rice<div>
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<b>Turned (The Vampire Journals #1)</b><b> by</b><b> Morgan Rice</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Young Adult Fiction (Paranormal Romance)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> November 14, 2013<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Self<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In TURNED (Book #1 of the Vampire Journals series), 18 year old Caitlin Paine finds herself uprooted from her nice suburb and forced to attend a dangerous New York City high school when her Mom moves again. The one ray of light in her new surroundings is Jonah, a new classmate who takes an instant liking to her.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But before their romance can blossom, Caitlin suddenly finds herself changing. She is overcome by a superhuman strength, a sensitivity to light, a desire to feed--by feelings she does not understand. She seeks answers to what’s happening to her, and her cravings lead her to the wrong place at the wrong time. Her eyes are opened to a hidden world, right beneath her feet, thriving underground in New York City. She finds herself caught between two dangerous covens, right in the middle of a vampire war.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It is at this moment that Caitlin meets Caleb, a mysterious and powerful vampire who rescues her from the dark forces. He needs her to help lead him to the legendary lost artifact. And she needs him for answers, and for protection. Together, they will need to answer one crucial question: who was her real father?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But Caitlin finds herself caught between two men as something else arises between them: a forbidden love. A love between the races that will risk both of their lives, and will force them to decide whether to risk it all for each other…</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Turned is the first book in the Vampire Journals by Morgan Rice. Caitlin never thought she was anything but human. Now that her vampire instincts are kicking in, she’s not perfect at it. I actually enjoyed that about her. It made her behavior more believable. Because of this she finds herself running for her life.. literally. The instalove felt rushed. I kinda hoped we would have more build up there. All in all, this first book introduced us to Caitlin’s life and her world nicely. I’m curious what happens next.</div></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SchhAp-dlhU/WWBGYh0cbhI/AAAAAAAASsw/ay906bR10aoQRehYPbX-den63llb5b-_gCLcBGAs/s1600/About%2Bthe%2BAuthor.png" /></div>
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Morgan Rice is the #1 bestselling and USA Today bestselling author of the epic fantasy series THE SORCERER’S RING, comprising seventeen books; of the #1 bestselling series THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS, comprising twelve books; of the #1 bestselling series THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY, a post-apocalyptic thriller comprising three books; of the epic fantasy series KINGS AND SORCERERS, comprising six books; of the epic fantasy series OF CROWNS AND GLORY, comprising 8 books; of the new epic fantasy series A THRONE FOR SISTERS, comprising eight books (and counting); and of the new science fiction series THE INVASION CHRONICLES. Morgan’s books are available in audio and print editions, and translations are available in over 25 languages.<br />
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To learn more about Morgan Rice and her books, visit her <a href="http://www.morganricebooks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4610078.Morgan_Rice" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/morganricebooks/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/morganriceauthor/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://morganriceauthor.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/morganricebooks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-71488353701409875232023-04-16T03:00:00.022-05:002023-04-16T03:00:00.250-05:00Book Review: Charm by Tracy Wolff<div>
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<b>Charm (Crave #5) by Tracy Wolff</b><br /><b>Genre:</b> Young Adult (Paranormal Romance)<br /><b>Date Published:</b> November 8, 2022<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Entangled: Teen<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">He's under my skin . . .</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">After Katmere, I shouldn't be surprised by anything. Including the existence of a world beyond my world called the Shadow Realm. Yet here I am, stuck in a strange, dangerous place with the worst of the supernaturals, the monster that other monsters fear: Hudson Vega. He might be Jaxon's brother and ridiculously hot, but he's a complete bona fide pain in my ass.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The question is whether we'll find a way out before I kill him . . . or run out of time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">She's stealing my heart . . .</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's a truth universally known—at least according to Grace—that everything is my fault. But I have a nasty suspicion that Grace isn't as human as she thinks, and she's the one keeping us trapped. Now we'll have to work together not only to survive, but to save all those we've come to call family who live here.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Because there's something connecting us. Something stronger than fear . . . and way more bloody dangerous.</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Charm is the fifth book in the Crave series by Tracy Wolff. I’ve been excited to get my hands on this one! We finally get to see what was going on with Grace and Hudson during those months. You really get to see all of Hudson’s sides. I enjoyed getting to know him even better. Watching his relationship with Grace develop was fun too. I wasn’t sure where the plot was really going for a while. It was entertaining, don’t get me wrong. I just want sure of the “why” of it all. But, not that I’ve read the blurb got the next book, I get it. This part of the story line sets us up perfectly for the next book, and I absolutely can’t wait!</div><div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Have you read the other books in this series?</b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2020/12/book-review-crave-by-tracy-wolff.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zep3NVhcVIQ/X-fUeH0LilI/AAAAAAAAXw8/H2qRh6xUNwsimMvPP9iznkEI4hCeepHQgCLcBGAsYHQ/w214-h320/Crave%2Bby%2BTracy%2BWolff.jpg" width="214" /></a><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2021/05/book-review-crush-by-tracy-wolff.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oDzqITteW2c/YKr9wck7fvI/AAAAAAAAYDw/irT2u8w2y7csS3-tvpLSPB7gnHNd0seEQCLcBGAsYHQ/w214-h320/Crush%2Bby%2BTracy%2BWolff.jpg" width="214" /></a><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2021/11/book-review-covet-by-tracy-wolff.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RYEIsmr5QU4/YaVFof8NhoI/AAAAAAAAYxE/QGHUUu5WX78RnbdLCYk3ddBL0feBZ8I2wCLcBGAsYHQ/w214-h320/Covet%2Bby%2BTracy%2BWolff.jpg" width="214" /></a><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2022/11/book-review-court-by-tracy-wolff.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTY9JPFocAHm-UpMIqwqC5K6zlIbmViWX-iExtPiMMOo-O0I2fHFWvUNLBNLMBzzkrdlFh0J7YFjw8EzJxsK2_Bt-Ks98dhm-bqAmSX5EvBFsBeSUlEHLYbK0mh9G5fg_1GXL5JjP1ihX66dVEOYAwPu9eHQAnR9FMGJR1T1xOaTFOdVhJ3uBZLmrhg/w212-h320/Court%20by%20Tracy%20Wolff.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SchhAp-dlhU/WWBGYh0cbhI/AAAAAAAASsw/ay906bR10aoQRehYPbX-den63llb5b-_gCLcBGAs/s1600/About%2Bthe%2BAuthor.png" /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1Gpq3GUGfU/X-fVSIJI1lI/AAAAAAAAXxE/S2Onn1TZkFYI7TnzoLZZ8uDb74N_7Z_1gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Tracy%2BWolff.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1Gpq3GUGfU/X-fVSIJI1lI/AAAAAAAAXxE/S2Onn1TZkFYI7TnzoLZZ8uDb74N_7Z_1gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Tracy%2BWolff.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div>New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Tracy Wolff is a lover of vampires, dragons, and all things that go bump in the night. A onetime English professor, she now devotes all her time to writing dark and romantic stories with tortured heroes and kick-butt heroines. She has written all her sixty-plus novels from her home in Austin, Texas, which she shares with her family.<br /><br />To learn more about Tracy Wolff and her books, visit her <a href="https://tracywolffauthor.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2003596.Tracy_Wolff" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TracyWolffAuthor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tracywolffbooks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/TracyWolff" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div></div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-13070376743544816672023-04-15T03:00:00.012-05:002023-08-12T15:13:26.585-05:00Book Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo<div>
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<b>Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Young Adult Fiction (Fantasy Romance)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> June 5, 2012<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Henry Holt & Company<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.</div></div>
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Shadow and Bone is the first book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book. It was fantastic! I haven’t watched the Netflix series yet, so I can’t compare the two, but I definitely will check it out after I finish this trilogy. I love how this story was built and how each character is multidimensional. There is so much going on with them… Inner conflicts along with everything going on around them. You think you get to know them, and they show you more of themselves. This was an intense read, and I feel like I’m in for a crazy ride. I couldn’t put this one down, and I can’t get started on the next one fast enough.<div><br />
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<div style="border: 5px solid rgb(255, 204, 255); font: 16px/26px, Bold, Serif; height: 300px; overflow: auto; width: 470px;"><span style="color: #444444;">The servants called them malenchki, little ghosts, because they were the smallest and the youngest, and because they haunted the Duke’s house like giggling phantoms, darting in and out of rooms, hiding in cupboards to eavesdrop, sneaking into the kitchen to steal the last of the summer peaches.<br /><br />The boy and the girl had arrived within weeks of each other, two more orphans of the border wars, dirty-faced refugees plucked from the rubble of distant towns and brought to the Duke’s estate to learn to read and write, and to learn a trade. The boy was short and stocky, shy but always smiling. The girl was different, and she knew it.<br /><br />Huddled in the kitchen cupboard, listening to the grownups gossip, she heard the Duke’s housekeeper, Ana Kuya, say, “She’s an ugly little thing. No child should look like that. Pale and sour, like a glass of milk that’s turned.”<br /><br />“And so skinny!” the cook replied. “Never finishes her supper.”<br /><br />Crouched beside the girl, the boy turned to her and whispered, “Why don’t you eat?”<br /><br />“Because everything she cooks tastes like mud.”<br /><br />“Tastes fine to me.”<br /><br />“You’ll eat anything.”<br /><br />They bent their ears back to the crack in the cupboard doors.<br /><br />A moment later the boy whispered, “I don’t think you’re ugly.”<br /><br />“Shhhh!” the girl hissed. But hidden by the deep shadows of the cupboard, she smiled.<br /><br /> <br /><br />In the summer, they endured long hours of chores followed by even longer hours of lessons in stifling classrooms. When the heat was at its worst, they escaped into the woods to hunt for birds’ nests or swim in the muddy little creek, or they would lie for hours in their meadow, watching the sun pass slowly overhead, speculating on where they would build their dairy farm and whether they would have two white cows or three. In the winter, the Duke left for his city house in Os Alta, and as the days grew shorter and colder, the teachers grew lax in their duties, preferring to sit by the fire and play cards or drink kvas. Bored and trapped indoors, the older children doled out more frequent beatings. So the boy and the girl hid in the disused rooms of the estate, putting on plays for the mice and trying to keep warm.<br /><br />On the day the Grisha Examiners came, the boy and the girl were perched in the window seat of a dusty upstairs bedroom, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mail coach. Instead, they saw a sleigh, a troika pulled by three black horses, pass through the white stone gates onto the estate. They watched its silent progress through the snow to the Duke’s front door.<br /><br />Three figures emerged in elegant fur hats and heavy wool kefta: one in crimson, one in darkest blue, and one in vibrant purple.<br /><br />“Grisha!” the girl whispered.<br /><br />“Quick!” said the boy.<br /><br />In an instant, they had shaken off their shoes and were running silently down the hall, slipping through the empty music room and darting behind a column in the gallery that overlooked the sitting room where Ana Kuya liked to receive guests.<br /><br />Ana Kuya was already there, birdlike in her black dress, pouring tea from the samovar, her large key ring jangling at her waist.<br /><br />“There are just the two this year, then?” said a woman’s low voice.<br /><br />They peered through the railing of the balcony to the room below. Two of the Grisha sat by the fire: a handsome man in blue and a woman in red robes with a haughty, refined air. The third, a young blond man, ambled about the room, stretching his legs.<br /><br />“Yes,” said Ana Kuya. “A boy and a girl, the youngest here by quite a bit. Both around eight, we think.”<br /><br />“You think?” asked the man in blue.<br /><br />“When the parents are deceased . . .”<br /><br />“We understand,” said the woman. “We are, of course, great admirers of your institution. We only wish more of the nobility took an interest in the common people.”<br /><br />“Our Duke is a very great man,” said Ana Kuya.<br /><br />Up in the balcony, the boy and the girl nodded sagely to each other. Their benefactor, Duke Keramsov, was a celebrated war hero and a friend to the people. When he had returned from the front lines, he converted his estate into an orphanage and a home for war widows. They were told to keep him nightly in their prayers.<br /><br />“And what are they like, these children?” asked the woman.<br /><br />“The girl has some talent for drawing. The boy is most at home in the meadow and the wood.”<br /><br />“But what are they like?” repeated the woman.<br /><br />Ana Kuya pursed her withered lips. “What are they like? They are undisciplined, contrary, far too attached to each other. They—”<br /><br />“They are listening to every word we say,” said the young man in purple.<br /><br />The boy and the girl jumped in surprise. He was staring directly at their hiding spot. They shrank behind the column, but it was too late.<br /><br />Ana Kuya’s voice lashed out like a whip. “Alina Starkov! Malyen Oretsev! Come down here at once!”<br /><br />Reluctantly, Alina and Mal made their way down the narrow spiral staircase at the end of the gallery. When they reached the bottom, the woman in red rose from her chair and gestured them forward.<br /><br />“Do you know who we are?” the woman asked. Her hair was steel gray. Her face lined, but beautiful.<br /><br />“You’re witches!” blurted Mal.<br /><br />“Witches?” she snarled. She whirled on Ana Kuya. “Is that what you teach at this school? Superstition and lies?”<br /><br />Ana Kuya flushed with embarrassment. The woman in red turned back to Mal and Alina, her dark eyes blazing. “We are not witches. We are practitioners of the Small Science. We keep this country and this kingdom safe.”<br /><br />“As does the First Army,” Ana Kuya said quietly, an unmistakeable edge to her voice.<br /><br />The woman in red stiffened, but after a moment she conceded, “As does the King’s Army.”<br /><br />The young man in purple smiled and knelt before the children. He said gently, “When the leaves change color, do you call it magic? What about when you cut your hand and it heals? And when you put a pot of water on the stove and it boils, is it magic then?”<br /><br />Mal shook his head, his eyes wide.<br /><br />But Alina frowned and said, “Anyone can boil water.”<br /><br />Ana Kuya sighed in exasperation, but the woman in red laughed.<br /><br />“You’re very right. Anyone can boil water. But not just anyone can master the Small Science. That’s why we’ve come to test you.” She turned to Ana Kuya. “Leave us now.”<br /><br />“Wait!” exclaimed Mal. “What happens if we’re Grisha? What happens to us?”<br /><br />The woman in red looked down at them. “If, by some small chance, one of you is Grisha, then that lucky child will go to a special school where Grisha learn to use their talents.”<br /><br />“You will have the finest clothes, the finest food, whatever your heart desires,” said the man in purple. “Would you like that?”<br /><br />“It is the greatest way that you may serve your King,” said Ana Kuya, still hovering by the door.<br /><br />“That is very true,” said the woman in red, pleased and willing to make peace.The boy and the girl glanced at each other and, because the adults were not paying close attention, they did not see the girl reach out to clasp the boy’s hand or the look that passed between them. The Duke would have recognized that look. He had spent long years on the ravaged northern borders, where the villages were constantly under siege and the peasants fought their battles with little aid from the King or anyone else. He had seen a woman, barefoot and unflinching in her doorway, face down a row of bayonets. He knew the look of a man defending his home with nothing but a rock in his hand.</span></div>
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Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology—and much more. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University. <br />
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To learn more about Leigh Bardugo and her books, visit her <a href="http://leighbardugo.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4575289.Leigh_Bardugo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GrishaTrilogy?ref=ts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/Lbardugo/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/LBardugo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Bone-Trilogy-Boxed-Set/dp/125019623X/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z6YVjOHGpl4/Xa-T8FxzTnI/AAAAAAAAWzo/cLAJh65lFbYu9gWwbVBCbFjXqYH-8HyGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/AmazonLogo.png" width="50" /></a><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shadow-and-bone-trilogy-boxed-set-leigh-bardugo/1127124266?ean=9781250196231" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sW11xrd3a7w/Xa-TLvGD3NI/AAAAAAAAWzg/89v0DzEE7Lc5s5GRolRFofP8e4CUvJoXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/bn-button.png" width="50" /></a><a href="https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Shadow-Bone-Trilogy-Boxed-Set/Leigh-Bardugo/9781250196231?id=7999591973635" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="64" data-original-width="167" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DJkOywTdX08/XqpBM6MHPLI/AAAAAAAAXSo/E7E9qaYEHzY460J3M5W6b1bmy0GUeZ__ACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Books-A-Million_logo_font.png" width="150" /></a><a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-shadow-and-bone-trilogy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tUldlc-A68/Xa-UzWgWdNI/AAAAAAAAWz4/1B9lWJklybk7g53-55Wz59UBPWwAgj1uQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/kobo-logo.png" width="50" /></a></div>What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-40236497488045761252023-04-13T02:30:00.008-05:002023-04-13T02:30:00.183-05:00Book Review: Captive Wolf by Alexis Calder<div>
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<b>Captive Wolf (Unchained Hearts) by Alexis Calder</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Adult Fiction (Paranormal/Fantasy Romance)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> January 27, 2021<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Self<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">She’s my captive until sunrise. I have one night with her to make her mine.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Lucy</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It’s the longest night of the year. Every wolf in my pack will spend the night running in the woods. Except me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I should have had my first shift years ago, but it turns out, I’m a dud. Daughter of the pack alpha, they expected great things from me. Instead, I’m a disappointment. While the pack runs, I prepare to make a run for it. It’s time to start over somewhere new where nobody knows that wolf shifters are real.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Except there’s one tiny problem. I crossed into another pack’s territory and now I’m being held captive by their alpha and he’s pissed he’s on guard duty instead of running with his pack. I should be terrified of him, but with each passing second I find myself more and more drawn to his scent.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Carter</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Her scent caught me from a mile away, making me hungry for her before I even saw her. But when I found her, she turned out to be the one woman I shouldn’t have anything to do with.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Our packs have been at odds for generations and while I lead my pack, her father leads the one pack that would kill me on sight. I should take her out but all I can think about is claiming her as mine forever.</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Captive Wolf by Alexis Calder is a book included in the Unchained Hearts series by multiple authors. Each story within this series stands alone and takes place within the same Paranormal Underworld. This one is Lucy and Carter's story. It's shorter than the other books I've read by this author, but it includes everything I love about her books... the steamy romance, danger, wolves. All the good stuff in a smaller package. I'm not familiar with the other authors included in this series, but I may have to check out their books too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Check out my reviews of other series by this author!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2021/08/wolf-marked-alexis-calder.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E4vIN59sx24/YQx8QJpIFiI/AAAAAAAAYdc/ecoqymRb--Q65eoKYWIBM68tHtZ0v2xNwCPcBGAYYCw/w133-h200/Wolf%2BMarked%2BMoon%2BCursed%2Bby%2BAlexis%2BCalder.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2022/01/book-review-darkest-mate-by-alexis.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimi6N1_yn5siH4zgShSYSDf6oYK8dX0SBrFXcD0TnNj0SGPa6nn18wRHmPNF0t9LGv01dpn8OnSBNz8cOrO5jcVio71ZPG4A8M2WZdcJaq5HHN37JQuDXTdMO1_nTR6ORw2wiKbs-gLTqBqS5QkrDoA0du01YYfXLAHi7BV5ezM5_C_YFaf_z149G2WA=w134-h200" width="134" /></a> <a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2022/09/book-review-obsession-by-alexis-calder.html" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoDlFIUo7RpG_KZaktiRwt_aJgqtkeFtcA0c47KkMtNEcjbDB0Mt8vpAx942HvQ-lBMc8vhZONT04rJI6m5_CYlTTTRPA-YN8ycvXvFXZkOTEP3O5EUz_YOwE-lDL1lzBr_sJZKeMeVfPq8JeGom864f3LyJlBOyyDRt5Pz0ziftut44drjz2jqPyjw/w133-h200/image.png" width="133" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SchhAp-dlhU/WWBGYh0cbhI/AAAAAAAASsw/ay906bR10aoQRehYPbX-den63llb5b-_gCLcBGAs/s1600/About%2Bthe%2BAuthor.png" /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w6XT78I_ayA/YQx-d_cj_3I/AAAAAAAAYdg/If4IDU1lek8Rvvcr5VuGUdTBqpFpGcPqQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Alexis%2BCalder.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w6XT78I_ayA/YQx-d_cj_3I/AAAAAAAAYdg/If4IDU1lek8Rvvcr5VuGUdTBqpFpGcPqQCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/Alexis%2BCalder.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;">Alexis Calder writes sassy heroines and sexy heroes with a sprinkle of sarcasm. She lives in the Rockies and drinks far too much coffee and just the right amount of wine.</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="text-align: left;">To learn more about <a href="https://alexiscalder.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alexis Calder</a> and her books, visit her on </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19382078.Alexis_Calder" rel="nofollow" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><span style="text-align: left;">, </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexisCalder" rel="nofollow" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span style="text-align: left;">, </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/alexiscalder" rel="nofollow" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Facebook Reader Group</a><span style="text-align: left;">, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/AlexisCalder1" rel="nofollow" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Twitter</a><span style="text-align: left;">, and </span><a href="https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alexis-calder" rel="nofollow" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">BookBub</a><span style="text-align: left;">.</span></div></div></div>
What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-14984758204901974522023-04-11T03:00:00.054-05:002023-04-11T20:18:28.137-05:00Book Review: Seeker by Jean M. Grant<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1500" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4YiW57H1muIEl6CNzEcOA4AxRiZ5z7U-YCKo4gSC12AMx3uEhX_fNZ1C7mhZQuxCZaYkv7T49P4YDT1P_-C7WOnaKctVSYP5zxneGzEsVnNJo-TcSwxx4z0cZGuzdWRIHietg-vFFhAhIJI_wGp8BRpNq5A1QMQhvgZjCBOrl9leD1OsElPJbPw10A/w283-h453/Seeker%20by%20Jean%20M.%20Grant.jpg" width="283" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="201" height="27" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wZ5UGUL3zR8/WWBCfjuvfMI/AAAAAAAASrw/W2GufOVLviciMJLZ-CLCu2lMee2uNzp-wCLcBGAs/w201-h27/Rating%2B4.png" style="text-align: left;" width="201" /></div></div>
<div><b>Seeker (Mortar & Pestle #2) by Jean M. Grant</b></div><div><b>Genre: </b>Adult Fiction (Historical Fantasy Romance)</div><div><b>Date Published:</b> March 9, 2023</div><div><b>Publisher: </b>Self</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Nock, draw, release. Her bow is always ready, and if her arrow hits its mark, she will secure her destined soulmate.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Aileana Montgomerie’s bloodline holds valuable gifts of foresight and healing, but with each honor comes a curse. Even though she is descended from the mystical isles’ folk, she lacks the ability of the Scottish Ancients and wonders if she belongs in a magical family. Aileana just wants a purpose. What good is her bow and arrow if she is denied the right to fight for her clan?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Brodie MacDougall is ordained to be the next war chieftain of his clan. The title is a privilege as long as his brother, the future laird, doesn’t expect him to lift a sword and charge into battle. Chronic pain and nervous vapors force him to spend his days alone. Can his strategic skills keep him one step ahead of his conspiring brother?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Through a magical Mortar & Pestle, Brodie finds his heart’s desire. But there’s a catch. The seat on his brother’s council is no longer dependent upon his health…but on Aileana’s strength. With rumblings of unrest among their clans, will their love foster an alliance or be a step toward war?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Be sure to check out the other books in the Mortar and Pestle series!</div></div></div>
<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="970" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZRryBN0V81yd8WVW00w_AhoZhmTwYZaadcd8fWNwRycgHP_gnlKGc_50OtNVwKPJyCSxrjRuiiZjjl6yREeLF-Cbe3XbyAoerH0NiPyVg08ubM8YTR4VK_xCGaz0iEy0h1wR7VxtmeIfRUQGo5Hk1WxJlQjqZTVd8EzoNGIRHlk-u4ggKzB0XgmDrA/w461-h143/Seeker%20Teaser.jpg" width="461" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="970" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKTN-h7nSK9P0p51E-WhiRwTtErUI632T7FcQgaVt9ExzGm72e6IkoZBizblbwilacVBnkX-Ka2RXc6OdceHat7HG2rlY9GxcVQ9vyrPEdVGnWwA28rYO65mWrY-zedBQfrmC7Zkp8_NDU0dBtgi1yWU031ni81jC7BCL85kuQkvIQaXIkZ8NXGmv8yg/w463-h143/Seeker%20Teaser%202.jpg" width="463" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="970" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLtUo3tGftsuHhgc-4J242p9Jqctyq5tIwkI_1KxWtxjivIUfX9u5PVo9lQTmPQXyUK8ly2C6XgUNsjbHxecPIgItvjFoi3pl6TB0OTsqkoWBXoQXD1wDYgC_rREnPbrlzkdJ-_rbBDkywNaUyaGHYo9NfVgkxVVLbzKZxgzih5kPhYvXzrBdnWxdhMQ/w466-h144/Seeker%20Teaser%203.jpg" width="466" /></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Seeker is the second book in the Mortar & Pestle series. This series is unique in that each book is written by a different author. In this case, it’s written by Jean M. Grant and can be read as a stand alone. This story was fast paced, but there was no insta love. I wouldn’t say the characters were enemies, but they didn’t like each other in the beginning. I think the real issue was that they didn’t really know each other, so they let their imagination fill in the blanks, leading them dislike each other. Their story flowed nicely and has a lot going on for such a short story. I was pleased with how it all turned out. I’m really enjoying this type of series. Each author gets to bring something of their own to the table. It’s fun.</div></div>
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<i>The ARC of Seeker by Jean M. Grant was kindly provided to me by the author through <a href="https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/107887/selkie-an-enemies-to-lovers-viking-romance" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BookSprout</a> for review. The opinions are my own.</i><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Check out my review of the first book in this series!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2023/03/release-day-review-selkie-by-sydney-winward.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2w-AkwTDYeQ34QdZe5f9q-EcJnqQBTIqVUkD2Gw4Nt6Q0vRH1T5Utl4-VN54WAbjD887YiO62nioUPC__Zmwqx0MQ101tv9FgQLHcwboHGjIZL_0Elp27Tq3UdeOR5rSoGrR1VT8u4D8xJFZc1znDxfWbemqau3IwXI4IPHmSrmOY1Wf4gu5jNCcsDw/w200-h320/Selkie%20by%20Sydney%20Winward.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHO9TWXJl8hbPFVjpMvoejViaFcPCm7C8Z4I4lz-0u9TuXpMld8ITEao6jOEvUQrfsbcLugmn0WNbfowH7wykXZeGIZEIItVnAMc4q1U54dYJX5y0pg0OzGYddKQtjFOCH6_NBgsg0trj5ohAVH0Em9ZCbLkxmiN9dqvLriMgo2NP7PLTenii8GQSReQ/s320/Jean%20M.%20Grant.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHO9TWXJl8hbPFVjpMvoejViaFcPCm7C8Z4I4lz-0u9TuXpMld8ITEao6jOEvUQrfsbcLugmn0WNbfowH7wykXZeGIZEIItVnAMc4q1U54dYJX5y0pg0OzGYddKQtjFOCH6_NBgsg0trj5ohAVH0Em9ZCbLkxmiN9dqvLriMgo2NP7PLTenii8GQSReQ/w238-h238/Jean%20M.%20Grant.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" width="238" /></a></div><div>Jean is a scientist by training with a background in marine biology, microbiology, and immunology. She currently resides in New England and draws from her interests in history, science, the outdoors, and her family for writing inspiration.</div><div><br /></div><div>Awestruck by the historical romance genre years ago, she dove deep into mystical Scotland. From there came her "Hundred" trilogy which has a touch of the paranormal. She has expanded her novel adventures to include contemporary romance and women's fiction. Two of her books won InD'tale 2020 RONE awards. A Hundred Breaths was a runner-up in its category and Will Rise from Ashes took first place in its category!</div><div><br /></div><div>A nature enthusiast who adores the national parks, Jean also writes for family-oriented travel magazines and websites. When not writing, she enjoys tending to her flower gardens, tackling the biggest mountains in New England with her husband and children, while taking snapshots of the world around her and daydreaming about the next story.</div>
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To learn more about Jean M. Grant and her books, visit her <a href="https://www.jeanmgrant.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16582543.Jean_M_Grant" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jeanmgrantauthor/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jeanmgrant" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jean-m-grant" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BookBub</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/JeanGrant05" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Seeker-Scottish-Medieval-Enemies-Romance-ebook/dp/B0BRYS2JXY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z6YVjOHGpl4/Xa-T8FxzTnI/AAAAAAAAWzo/cLAJh65lFbYu9gWwbVBCbFjXqYH-8HyGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/AmazonLogo.png" width="50" /></a></div>What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-23111007290129092062023-03-30T02:30:00.003-05:002023-03-30T19:46:07.426-05:00Book Review: Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="477" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQwiixrBOgwMunpxELjlbBBVruy1hEHga9MIMxy0iu8yz7NFkYbFmAhcef1aj2m6ZGrD9aTHIi1yRRBPVuhtIx8N2RuJrzGiIFq3hJ58sOI88zdJeytYNYKIlmZJKrEgN-gk6kiUHPvDrfqIboUngrrD0l4__CBk4Wq8rhuO-P6l_Bp5c58qaXJ4Dvvw/w316-h477/Firefly%20Lane%20by%20Kristin%20Hannah.jpg" width="316" /><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="170" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VTuAdvwsOTM/WWBCfcQ01gI/AAAAAAAASrs/qWYopU1L5ZYsazCkY5qlSNiJZ20YQlBnwCLcBGAs/s1600/Rating%2B3.png" style="text-align: left;" /></div><b>Firefly Lane (</b><b>Firefly Lane #1</b><b>) by Kristin Hannah</b></div>
<b>Genre:</b> Adult Fiction (Contemporary/Historical Fiction)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> February 5, 2008<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> St. Martin's Press<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">From the New York Times bestselling author of On Mystic Lake comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . .</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all---beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So begins Kristin Hannah’s magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success . . . and loneliness. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully. What she doesn’t know is how being a wife and mother will change her . . . how she’ll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she’ll envy her famous best friend. . . .</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship---jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart . . . and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Firefly Lane is for anyone who ever drank Boone’s Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it’s the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It’s about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you---and knows what has the power to hurt you . . . and heal you. Firefly Lane is a story you’ll never forget . . . one you’ll want to pass on to your best friend.</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Firefly Lane is the first book in the Firefly Lane duology by Kristin Hannah. I’ve watched the Netflix series, and now I've read the book. I liked things about both formats. I LOVE the fact that the book is told in chronological order, rather than flipping back and forth like the TV series. I feel like I got to know the characters better. The flipping back and forth that they like to do on television is pretty annoying most of the time. In the book, you can fictionally grow up with the characters in the way the author intended. And that’s exactly how I felt. I felt like I knew them, and I got mad at both of them. I got glad with both of them. You really get to see how self absorbed Tully is and how much of a doormat Kate is. Their flaws are magnified… I guess because you’re getting their perspectives. You know what they are thinking. Why they do things. You miss that in the TV series. I have to say Marah makes me so glad I decided not to have kids. She’s awful. No thank you. The emotions were much stronger as a reader reading this book than watching the show, and that’s a big part of what ruined it for me. The ending. Was it too much to ask for a happy ending? Or maybe even a not too horrible ending at least? I understand it was therapeutic for the author, and I’m so glad for that. For me? It was miserable. I’m honestly not sure if I’ll read the next book now. It’s just too much sad. I might check out some of her other books though, because she's a fantastic story teller, and her writing style really drew me in.</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiFEjxV5_iX8nAWr0JuLiehDBYzz6D2gNoUQZm8RYQk6XGkqcPVL1diir5xdv4jNib6E3FD-y8rIoSA4xlznttZ_pSq73kBLJjQXcybjY-hqVZ1lwCTauOm4H9rIBKz5g5seJwhhWnkIbILZd9yY8ulKzyfjw9jR6jT2ROm-ytH3YKRZwChTPuGFOljA/s16000/Firefly%20Lane%20by%20Kristin%20Hannah.png" /></div><div>
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<div style="border: 5px solid rgb(255, 204, 255); font: 16px/26px, Bold, Serif; height: 300px; overflow: auto; width: 470px;">CHAPTER ONE<br /><br />They used to be called the Firefly Lane girls. That was a long time ago—more than three decades—but just now, as she lay in bed listening to a winter storm raging outside, it seemed like yesterday.<br /><br />In the past week (unquestionably the worst seven days of her life), she’d lost the ability to distance herself from the memories. Too often lately in her dreams it was 1974; she was a teenager again, coming of age in the shadow of a lost war, riding her bike beside her best friend in a darkness so complete it was like being invisible. The place was relevant only as a reference point, but she remembered it in vivid detail: a meandering ribbon of asphalt bordered on either side by gullies of murky water and hillsides of shaggy grass. Before they met, that road seemed to go nowhere at all; it was just a country lane named after an insect no one had ever seen in this rugged blue and green corner of the world.<br /><br />Then they saw it through each other’s eyes. When they stood together on the rise of the hill, instead of towering trees and muddy potholes and distant snowy mountains, they saw all the places they would someday go. At night, they sneaked out of their neighboring houses and met on that road. On the banks of the Pilchuck River they smoked stolen cigarettes, cried to the lyrics of “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero,” and told each other everything, stitching their lives together until by summer’s end no one knew where one girl ended and the other began. They became to everyone who knew them simply TullyandKate, and for more than thirty years that friendship was the bulkhead of their lives: strong, durable, solid. The music might have changed with the decades, but the promises made on Firefly Lane remained.<br /><br />Best friends forever.<br /><br />They’d believed it would last, that vow, that someday they’d be old women, sitting in their rocking chairs on a creaking deck, talking about the times of their lives, and laughing.<br /><br />Now she knew better, of course. For more than a year she’d been telling herself it was okay, that she could go on without a best friend. Sometimes she even believed it.<br /><br />Then she would hear the music. Their music. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” “Material Girl.” “Bohemian Rhapsody.” “Purple Rain.” Yesterday, while she’d been shopping, a bad Muzak version of “You’ve Got a Friend” had made her cry, right there next to the radishes.<br /><br />She eased the covers back and got out of bed, being careful not to waken the man sleeping beside her. For a moment she stood there, staring down at him in the shadowy darkness. Even in sleep, he wore a troubled expression.<br /><br />She took the phone off its hook and left the bedroom, walking down the quiet hallway toward the deck. There, she stared out at the storm and gathered her courage. As she punched in the familiar numbers, she wondered what she would say to her once-best friend after all these silent months, how she would start. I’ve had a bad week… my life is falling apart… or simply: I need you.Across the black and turbulent Sound, the phone rang.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRepVYfY8KXdjIWXiOv44_gsiRzwlOG4nS5nHBRalCABm0oGMDFptwj-L5YzJ6_zRg2FNPtiCzwb14NX8Mu2oTTqAhqFQ9NleQEEPbfCbTu24daz_-KFPfcU-LQbd_p95Y5H-vxcp0nqnQj2aOPzEcmAlUSC6W68XHZ85U7kRmfw5oW5P8uR5ECjFiWg/s320/Kristin%20Hannah.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRepVYfY8KXdjIWXiOv44_gsiRzwlOG4nS5nHBRalCABm0oGMDFptwj-L5YzJ6_zRg2FNPtiCzwb14NX8Mu2oTTqAhqFQ9NleQEEPbfCbTu24daz_-KFPfcU-LQbd_p95Y5H-vxcp0nqnQj2aOPzEcmAlUSC6W68XHZ85U7kRmfw5oW5P8uR5ECjFiWg/s320/Kristin%20Hannah.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><div>Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international blockbuster, The Nightingale, which was named Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People’s Choice award for best fiction in the same year. Additionally, it was a selection of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club in 2023. It was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week. In 2018, The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstores’ bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and the Book Of the Month club, which named it the best book of 2021. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Nightingale is currently in production at Tri Star, with Dakota and Elle Fanning set to star. Tri Star has also optioned The Great Alone and it is in development. Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular tv show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke and Season Two is currently set to conclude the series on April 27, 2023. </div><div><br /></div><div>A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.</div>
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To learn more about Kristin Hannah and her books, visit her <a href="https://kristinhannah.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/54493.Kristin_Hannah" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKristinHannah/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, & <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kristinhannahauthor/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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<b>Shadows of Nightshade (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #1) by Lyla Oweds</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> New Adult Fiction (Paranormal/Fantasy Romance)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> March 8, 2023<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Self<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I dream of a time where I was warm, safe, and loved.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But my waking reality is starkly different.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Anxiety plagues me and spirits haunt the shadows. No matter how fast I run, I can’t seem to escape my past.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The only solace and steady force in my life is my best friend, Finn.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And now… there’s a ghost haunting me. And I’m not certain if it wants help or if it wants to kill me. There’s only one person who can understand: Finn’s brother, Damen.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">However, in reaching out, I’m betraying Finn and setting things into motion that cannot be undone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But nobody ever said that doing the right thing was easy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>The Garden of Eternal Flowers is a re-envisioning of my Grimm Cases series. Eternal Flowers has taken my original vision of Bianca's story and transformed it into something new and beautiful. Some chapters are similar, and some dialogue is the same, as The Grimm Cases, Origins, but overall, about 75% of the book has been entirely revisioned with new plot points, mystery, and interpersonal relationships. Also, unlike Origins (originally a Wattpad release), there is now a clear beginning, climax, and conclusion in each individual novel, which allows them to be read alone or as part of the ongoing series.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>I hope that you will enjoy Shadows of Nightshade as much as I enjoyed writing it. Truly, it is an honor to write about Bianca and her boys, and all of these characters are near and dear to my heart.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Trigger Warning: This series deals with the aftermath of severe childhood trauma.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1215" data-original-width="1560" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoa9VPqA_4_r2Ft_94W5MLX6P1LsybglGRhh-6nwPejhOdpWl6oMca6doPkjiKOtdhCo9ElezejWXlW0sJdC4yEa3jL2MLU2Kh0JtgZOaGcElIRu91wnhCRbR34YKLAMcb2N-IXjvrWBpZtJn-MB03SkAXFaHDB0d2eLaNTOwYJj1ttjjUhyGy1OsGA/w507-h394/Shadows%20of%20Nightshade%20graphic%20read%20now.png" width="507" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Shadows of Nightshade is the first book in The Garden of Eternal Flowers series by Lyla Oweds. This is a re-envisioning of the author’s Grimm Cases series. I haven’t read the original, but this was a fun introduction to the series. My only fault with it would be the ending. The blurb says each book would have a clear ending, and I didn’t find that to be the case. I felt like it ended right when it was really starting to get going. Maybe that’s because I didn't read the original. So, I still don’t really know what’s going on. Was I supposed to read those books first? Anyway, I loved the characters. Each one has an individual personality, and they are set apart from one another. I feel like that’s hard to do when you introduce so many characters in a small amount of time, but the author pulled it off well! They were a fun group!</div></div>
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<i>Shadows of Nightshade by Lyla Oweds was kindly provided to me by <a href="http://www.lolasblogtours.net/blog-tour-shadows-of-nightshade-by-lyla-oweds/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lola's Blog Tours</a> for review. The opinions are my own.</i><i><br /></i>
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<div style="border: 5px solid rgb(255, 204, 255); font: 16px/26px, Bold, Serif; height: 300px; overflow: auto; width: 470px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c9fb0836-7fff-39df-9e7a-53960cfd7356"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wasn’t sure why he thought he deserved any special rights to my time, but it was obvious that he believed he could do whatever he wanted. How did he become so arrogant? </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I opened my mouth to respond—which would probably have ended with me embarrassing myself—but nothing escaped. I stared at him, my heart racing, as I stood speechless. Then laughter—close enough for me to pick up—drifted over from the next row. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sound shattered the enchantment cast over me—how could I have forgotten our position—and my face burst with heat. How would this scene appear to anyone passing by? </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Damen’s eyes glinted mischievously. He must have had the same realization. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Let me go,” I hissed. But my whispered venom only encouraged him, and he smiled. My traitorous heart began to beat faster. “Someone might see us!”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Really?” His grin grew wider. This was the expression he’d had when we first met. “Then it’s fine if we don’t get caught? Consider it noted.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No!” I was internally screaming, even though my words were a weak protest. “You can’t play around with students anyway.” Not that it mattered there’d be no games between us—ever. “You’re basically a professor.” </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ah.” He ran his finger down my cheek and I shivered. “But you’re not my student. I can’t help it.” His lips dipped slightly, and he tilted his head as his gaze continued to hold mine. “You’ve taken root in my mind.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How idiotic. I would bet my shoes that he said that to everyone.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why are you so annoying?” I gritted out. Plus, what even was that line? It sounded like something from a cheesy romance novel. I’d be shocked if that ever worked for him in the past. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finn’s stupid, horny brother. He could go flirt with someone else. I didn’t even remember why I wanted his help anymore, because no matter how much I wanted to lean into his touch or melt under his scorching gaze, I wanted to poke him in the eyes that much more. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What a quandary. </span></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: #ffccff; border: currentcolor;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How long have you been writing? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've been writing since I was in high school, but nothing serious until after my oldest daughter was born.</span><br /></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ccc36a1-7fff-4a95-dc3e-0fea6f632d13"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What inspired the re-imagining of The Grimm Cases? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Healing! The revamp was all about healing and moving on from my own past.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What was the weirdest thing you had to google while doing research? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Probably stuff about how to kill people and different poisons. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What book have you read too many times to count? </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My own! I have a million easter eggs in my books, so I keep re-reading to make sure I remember them all.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you're bored writing the thing, people will get bored reading the thing.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you could hop into the life of any fictional character, who would it be and why? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">None! I don't read particularly happy things! </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your books? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How hard it is to write! You can create perfect characters and worlds in your head, but writing it all out is a completely different beast.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do you like to do when you're not writing? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Watch TV and sleep! I also spend a lot of time working and studying for my graduate program.</span></p><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are any of the things in your books based on real life experiences or purely all imagination? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Half and half! Emotions and some events are based on real-life situations but set in fictional scenarios. </span></span></span></blockquote></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXJYebuqTsdRRKv4D3q68aQ1vdCIFnGyu4VVwrcHqGswgE-44MABJ7IHW5GEmqUHpLPIrP79MhwLMEJorIlj-JXZXc3Dt27zshulc1qLj_c3gefko-do_HIV0vser5Hrx05DHLmEo1tOCogsWecaTLHFrsrR9913dj08sxmWMTJMGP6dO75so5jbGLg/s320/Lyla%20Oweds.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXJYebuqTsdRRKv4D3q68aQ1vdCIFnGyu4VVwrcHqGswgE-44MABJ7IHW5GEmqUHpLPIrP79MhwLMEJorIlj-JXZXc3Dt27zshulc1qLj_c3gefko-do_HIV0vser5Hrx05DHLmEo1tOCogsWecaTLHFrsrR9913dj08sxmWMTJMGP6dO75so5jbGLg/w253-h216/Lyla%20Oweds.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" width="253" /></a></div><div>Lyla Oweds is a paranormal / urban fantasy author who resides in the beautiful Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania with her husband, children, and animals. While she enjoys all genres of fiction, she has a deep appreciation for fantasy, romance, mystery, crime, and horror. Lyla has a bachelor’s in anthropology and will be completing her master’s in information technology in 2023.</div><div><br /></div><div>Writing is her moonlighting passion, and she loves having the opportunity to share her perspective as a disabled (profoundly hard of hearing) woman. During the daylight hours, Lyla works as a principal / lead design and development specialist focusing on user experience and accessibility. When not working, Lyla is usually indulging in one of her many hobbies such as amusing her children, gardening, crocheting, interior decorating, baking, cooking, or playing video games.</div>
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To learn more about Lyla Oweds and her books, visit her <a href="http://lylaoweds.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18244784.Lyla_Oweds" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-87438521282992414702023-03-07T03:00:00.052-06:002023-04-11T20:15:34.679-05:00Release Day Review! Selkie by Sydney Winward<div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Selkie (Mortar & Pestle #1) by Sydney Winward</b></div></div>
<b>Genre:</b> Adult Fiction (Historical Fantasy Romance)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> March 7, 2023<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Silver Forge Books<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">No one has ever managed to capture a selkie. Until now…</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">On their wedding day, Klaus Lovik’s bride is stolen by an enemy chieftain. He will travel to the ends of the earth to find her, and in desperation, he captures a selkie and uses her as a bartering piece. But the selkie’s magic is powerful enough to drown entire islands, and if he’s not careful, he might find himself in a watery grave.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Mayla Brior is gifted with the power to shed her seal skin, enabling her to walk on land. But when a man robs her of the pelt, she is forced to follow his commands, endangering her skin, and preventing her return to the sea.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Venturing into enemy territory, Klaus and Mayla bond, escalating their relationship into more than adversaries. He realizes his pending nuptials are a dreadful mistake. But it might be too late to choose another path, especially when he knows he has to eventually let her go.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsC6VNk4syziV22EWUi6a0RT80ojy87-FJV7nqWbuLp3Ez-mj6qYa520Yfyw8c_5R4TumD7iI9mAGTYDQkGObMVpzGv-2Hfx_9yLjkkyFG9Kw4X1LB0hZeOJ7Xc-1-Ik4_nBIp5mmyvQt-67xop5P2aUc8jl2Wuv0ZCq0eC0CvFthVCEgjT-fEDwPk4Q/s16000/Selkie%20by%20Sydney%20Winward.png" /></div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Selkie by Sydney Winward is a standalone romance in the Mortar & Pestle. Each book in this series is written by a different author with different characters, but within the same World. I'm definitely curious about these other books too. Selkies interest me. They’re a creature you don’t see too often in fiction, and I’d really love to learn more about them. This story built upon itself nicely , and you got to know the main characters and the inner wars they were fighting as it progressed. I’d say there was a quick attraction, but it definitely wasn’t instalove as they hated each other in the beginning… and rightly so. I completely enjoyed getting lost in their world, and I’d like to check out some of this author’s other work as well. </div><div><br /></div></div><div>
<i>The ARC of Selkie by Sydney Winward was kindly provided to me by the author through <a href="https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/107887/selkie-an-enemies-to-lovers-viking-romance" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BookSprout</a> for review. The opinions are my own.</i></div><div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Check out my review of the second book in this series!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2023/04/book-review-seeker-by-jean-m-grant.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4YiW57H1muIEl6CNzEcOA4AxRiZ5z7U-YCKo4gSC12AMx3uEhX_fNZ1C7mhZQuxCZaYkv7T49P4YDT1P_-C7WOnaKctVSYP5zxneGzEsVnNJo-TcSwxx4z0cZGuzdWRIHietg-vFFhAhIJI_wGp8BRpNq5A1QMQhvgZjCBOrl9leD1OsElPJbPw10A/w200-h320/Seeker%20by%20Jean%20M.%20Grant.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0owgrp5MK4ZAA4yMR7U2jEa3BZcAYh6iOcktPdqxWaQ_xV2IGjXvu6jl9xvQiOW_i7OCfXELEALvDvTWjbZcR2pZ9vBVHSGuvoObs8AlEf454A8Opgc7CKeK-XxqdlbdcgyOvLaRxjOlEKpGnWK_nSH50i5BYL7SiNN9MrTeruUVqDPWoXqSmPqS_dw/s320/Sydney%20Winward.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0owgrp5MK4ZAA4yMR7U2jEa3BZcAYh6iOcktPdqxWaQ_xV2IGjXvu6jl9xvQiOW_i7OCfXELEALvDvTWjbZcR2pZ9vBVHSGuvoObs8AlEf454A8Opgc7CKeK-XxqdlbdcgyOvLaRxjOlEKpGnWK_nSH50i5BYL7SiNN9MrTeruUVqDPWoXqSmPqS_dw/s320/Sydney%20Winward.webp" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" /></a></div><div>Sydney Winward is an award-winning fantasy and paranormal romance author who dabbles in the occasional historical fiction. She loves building complex worlds filled with magic, strong characters, and emotional stories that can make you laugh and cry.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sydney is the author of The Bloodborn Series and the Sunlight and Shadows Series. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, thinking about stories, or going on adventures with her children. She lives in Utah with her husband and three amazing kids.</div>
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To learn more about Sydney Winward and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19712442.Sydney_Winward" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sydneyewinward" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sydneywinward/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@sydneywinward" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TikTok</a>, <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/sydneyewinward/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyWinward" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BRWZ6K8Q?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_0&storeType=ebooks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z6YVjOHGpl4/Xa-T8FxzTnI/AAAAAAAAWzo/cLAJh65lFbYu9gWwbVBCbFjXqYH-8HyGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/AmazonLogo.png" width="50" /></a><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/selkie-sydney-winward/1142990598" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sW11xrd3a7w/Xa-TLvGD3NI/AAAAAAAAWzg/89v0DzEE7Lc5s5GRolRFofP8e4CUvJoXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/bn-button.png" width="50" /></a><a href="https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Selkie/Sydney-Winward/9781960461902?id=8699442566280" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="64" data-original-width="167" height="50" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DJkOywTdX08/XqpBM6MHPLI/AAAAAAAAXSo/E7E9qaYEHzY460J3M5W6b1bmy0GUeZ__ACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Books-A-Million_logo_font.png" width="150" /></a></div>What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-26597668172043690772023-02-20T02:30:00.001-06:002023-03-20T20:54:13.283-05:00Book Review: The Defiant by Lesley Livingston<div>
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<b>The Defiant (The Valiant #2) by Lesley Livingston</b><br />
<b>Genre:</b> Young Adult Fiction (Historical Fiction)<br />
<b>Date Published:</b> January 23, 2018<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> <a href="https://www.penguin.com/razorbill-overview/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Razorbill</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Gladiator Fallon and her warrior sisters must face off against a rival gladiator academy in this lush sequel to the highly anticipated historical fantasy The Valiant.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">They call her "Victrix" now. Victory.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But winning the highest honor ever bestowed upon a gladiatrix in Rome has earned Fallon more deadly enemies outside the arena than she ever faced within it. And it is those dearest to Fallon who will pay the price for her success.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Now, Fallon and her warrior sisters are thrust into a vicious conflict with a rival gladiator academy, one that will threaten not only Fallon's heart - and her love for Roman soldier Cai - but the very heart of the Roman Empire.</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Defiant is the second book in the Valiant Trilogy by Lesley Livingston. I loved Valiant! So, I went into this one with some pretty high expectations. But, for some reason I just couldn’t stay focused. The pacing was a bit slow. I didn’t feel the chemistry in the romance. And, it just didn’t grab me like the first book. There was still a whole lotta girl power, which was fun, and the action scenes are pretty entertaining. I was just waiting for it too pull me in like the first book, and that never happened. Maybe it was just me, as I just couldn’t stay focused this time around.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div>
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<b>Check out my review of the first book!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2017/02/release-day-review-valiant-by-lesley.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LgwRmPpZ8YU/WIrGUvY7eRI/AAAAAAAAROg/LnfUGM8WGp0IJd-W0STqL-Yur49yC-URgCLcB/w212-h320/the%2Bvaliant.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Check out my review of another book by this author!</b><br /><a href="http://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2017/01/playing-catch-up-starling-by-lesley.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XW7FcOdElYQ/WHQ367vdMDI/AAAAAAAARE4/Lh55XHSVEewdCy24mEAVh9Sz_D1Kc7jZgCPcB/w133-h200/starling.jpg" width="133" /></a><br /><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SchhAp-dlhU/WWBGYh0cbhI/AAAAAAAASsw/ay906bR10aoQRehYPbX-den63llb5b-_gCLcBGAs/s1600/About%2Bthe%2BAuthor.png" /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o73sZiDZNug/WIq_0rVoHDI/AAAAAAAAROM/sCgDamM8ccUCG9LXoi0Wzmuuj40799cEgCLcB/s320/Lesley%2BLivingston.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o73sZiDZNug/WIq_0rVoHDI/AAAAAAAAROM/sCgDamM8ccUCG9LXoi0Wzmuuj40799cEgCLcB/s320/Lesley%2BLivingston.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" width="257" /></a></div>Lesley Livingston is the author of Once Every Never, winner of the inaugural Copper Cylinder Award and shortlisted for the CLA Young Adult Book Award and the BC Stellar Book Award. She is also the author of the Wondrous Strange and Starling trilogies. She lives in Toronto.<br /><br />To learn more about Lesley Livingston and her books, visit her <a href="http://www.lesleylivingston.com/" target="_blank">website</a>.You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1312879.Lesley_Livingston" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/LesLivingston" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div></div>
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What's Beyond Forks?http://www.blogger.com/profile/16617396656642938801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-732769710260031050.post-18618644477265614332023-02-02T03:00:00.015-06:002023-03-20T20:41:12.450-05:00Book Review: The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber<div>
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<b>The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart #2) by Stephanie Garber</b><br /><b>Genre:</b> Young Adult Fiction (Paranormal/Fantasy Romance)<br /><b>Date Published:</b> September 13, 2022<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Flatiron Books<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Not every love is meant to be.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">After Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, betrays her, Evangeline Fox swears she'll never trust him again. Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can...</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Ballad of Never After is the second book in the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy by Stephanie Garber. This story is keeping that dark fairytale feel, and I am loving it beyond words. I don't know if this is a world I want to live in necessarily, but I sure do love reading about it. I got to know Evangeline and Jacks so much better. I'm so addicted to the banthering and chemistry between Evangeline and Jacks. It's amped up so much more this time around. Everything is pretty amped up actually. We find out so much and so much is happening, and while things are happening, other things are happening behind the scenes. It's fantastic! Now, I just need the next one to be released yesterday!!</div><div><br /></div></div><div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="87" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UU2fgpVAG68/WWBEF6c96sI/AAAAAAAASsM/-4KYOOlaWLEXC-JC5XBAF0DxNDJ7yYoUQCLcBGAs/s1600/Excerpt.png" /></div><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1322965243&color=%23fa00ff&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 100; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/macaudio-2" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="MacmillanAudio">MacmillanAudio</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/macaudio-2/the-ballad-of-never-after-by-stephanie-garber-audiobook-excerpt" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Ballad Of Never After by Stephanie Garber, audiobook excerpt">The Ballad Of Never After by Stephanie Garber, audiobook excerpt</a></div><div><div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Check out my reviews of the Caraval trilogy!</b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2017/02/book-review-caraval-by-stephanie-garber.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1gY-89RHFD0/WG8NndZc46I/AAAAAAAARBE/MmvzRA7sGg0BIJf-Ae-WvEO8HKlxhibIwCLcB/w131-h200/caraval.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2018/12/book-review-legendary-stephanie-garber.html" target="_blank"><img height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-igR-POvFYO8/Wk7j4GTz8uI/AAAAAAAAUE4/uDpbOrewMyksU_q_4_XiXfViEMg8SlfVACLcBGAs/w131-h200/Legendary.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://www.whatsbeyondforks.com/2019/11/book-review-finale-by-stephanie-garber.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CcLDEMiKArY/XdyJHj7lR9I/AAAAAAAAW3U/BZGRlVGqqiwFJoaUfvF8T3wo7MPoMBJiwCLcBGAsYHQ/w131-h200/finale%2Bby%2Bstephanie%2Bgarber.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="26" data-original-width="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SchhAp-dlhU/WWBGYh0cbhI/AAAAAAAASsw/ay906bR10aoQRehYPbX-den63llb5b-_gCLcBGAs/s1600/About%2Bthe%2BAuthor.png" /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zdVXutuQkps/WJvkfBbWFfI/AAAAAAAARTs/Mw_PURPA2LELIq7bQJaSYEfoZtF12TwvACEw/s320/stephanie%2Bgarber.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="author" border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zdVXutuQkps/WJvkfBbWFfI/AAAAAAAARTs/Mw_PURPA2LELIq7bQJaSYEfoZtF12TwvACEw/s320/stephanie%2Bgarber.jpg" style="border: 5px dotted rgb(255, 204, 255); max-width: 90%;" width="212" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">My favorite place in the world is Disneyland because it’s the one place on earth where I feel as if the fantastical stories I love to write about could actually come to life.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When I’m not writing, I teach creative writing at a private college in Northern California, where I’ve been known to turn assignments into games and take students on field trips that involve book signings. I’m also a blogger on <a href="http://www.publishingcrawl.com/" target="_blank">PUB(LISHING) CRAWL</a>. But I probably spend most of my time on Twitter where I tend to overuse exclamation points and emojis.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To help pay my bills during college, grad school, and the breaks in between, I worked as a barista, a waitress, a bartender, a customer service representative for an energy consulting company, and as a sales girl at Bath and Bodyworks. I also spent years working with youth; I worked as a counselor at space themed summer camp, volunteered at a school for deaf children in Mexico, and I took multiple groups of college students overseas to spend their winter vacations serving at youth hostels in Amsterdam. But out of everything that I’ve done, writing young adult novels has been my favorite job.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My debut YA fantasy novel, Caraval will be published January 2017 (Flatiron Books/Macmillan—US and Hodder & Stoughton—UK). Caraval has sold in twenty-five foriegn territories and the movie rights were pre-empted by Twentieth Century Fox.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd477/whatsbeyondforks/Buttons/About_zps6bc50236.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">To learn more about Stephanie Garber and her books, visit her <a href="http://stephaniegarberauthor.com/" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14137787.Stephanie_Garber" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StephanieGarber.Author" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://ink361.com/app/users/ig-1580717025/stephanie_garber/photos" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/stephaniegarber/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/SGarberGirl" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div></div></div>
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