#GottaCatchHer #NetGalley

Title: Gotta Catch her
Author: Kelly Haworth & on Twitter
Publish Day: April 29, 2019 -- out now!
Publisher: NineStar Press
Rating: 🥄🥄🥄

Description

The story revolves around Ann, a project manager with a dog and Rachael a store manager (I think?) with a child.
Ann has a crush on Rachael -- after finding one another through Ani-Min -- a game that takes people outside to catch virtual animals.

Ann has to balance work -- which is intense ATM -- and trying to develop a real relationship with Rachael. Can she though?

Review:

What drew me into this was their use of a Pokemon Go game/augmented reality game wrapped into a romance story. That and the love interest is a bisexual woman. The conversations and the real life thrown into the story is there and happens naturally.
While we're seeing Ann in her work environment -- it's often the worse part of the story in my opinion. It talks about things that she's going to have to do..then she has a conversation about what she's going to do. So, we're getting double-dippings of the going ons with her in the job world. I know IRL, that's literally how you have conversations with your co-workers, especially, if you're not interested or close to them.

Her interactions with Rachael and her son are quick glimpses before she's pulled back into her work life. It feels like we're supposed to be reading about the work life and the writing just remembered in spurts that there was also supposed to be romance.

The writing and the interaction with the characters feel more natural and flow better when it's focused on the relationship. Overall, it's a short read -- while the romance is slow to come to the surface and things get moving.. it's good enough read to recommend.


Almost forgot -- Downloaded from Netgalley thanks to the publisher / netgalley -- free eRead in exchange for a truthful review :)

The Lurid Sea by Tom Cardamone

Title: The Lurid Sea
Author: Tom Cardamone
Publisher:Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
Release day: March 25,2018
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:A steamy bacchanal bending through time and space, replete with the occasional God, mythic creatures, and oh-so-many men. For centuries the godling Nerites luxuriated in a shifting sexual paradise.

My Review:

I requested this because I figured it'd be a fun different read.  This is straight up erotica from the first page on. It is listed as erotica so I mean..

It is descriptive heavy in my opinion.  I've never  thought it was possible. Which take from what you are reading.

Recommend?:
This is not a child friendly. If you enjoy erotic themr stories this will work for you.

Daddy Darkest - Ellery Kane

Title: Daddy Darkest

Author: Ellery Kane

Publisher: Amazon 

Release Day: Jun 1, 2017 -- the eBook on Amazon is currently $3.99

Rating: 4 out of 5

First Sentence: I wish my first plane ride had ended in a crash.

Downloaded through Netgalley to read for an honest review!

Summary: A month after her high school graduation, small-town-girl Samantha "Sam" Bronwyn boards a plane with her best friend, Ginny. Destination: San Francisco. But when Ginny disappears inside an airport bathroom wearing Sam's letterman jacket. A past where secrets aren't all that's buried and where revenge comes at the highest price.

About the Author: Ellery Kane is a Forensic psychologist and her work inspires her stories. 

My Review: 

It's an interesting story that starts in the present day with Samantha Bronwyn. As the story progresses it's discovered that Samantha's current problem has something to do with her mother's past. Once we find this out we jump to 1996 following her mother Clare down her path that leads us to Samantha's problem.

Some of the information that, to me, could have been shocking reveals are told to us and then we learn how that information came to be in later chapters. Usually in the flashback chapters with Clare. 

We go between the past and the present to explain how and why we are where we are. It's well written and fun to read. Some parts I wish she wasn't that great at writing because holy shit vivid imagery was not something I needed for certain scenes. 

As everything happens Samantha learns that she doesn't know her mom like she thought she did. When the book ends she still has learning to do and wonders if her mother will ever open up about everything that went down. 

This was a fun and different read I bought the next book after finishing this. 

Spoilers Ahead: 

In Clare's chapters we find out that she was a victim of molestation when she was a teenager by her friends step-father. We see how the stepdad's actions/grooming effect her into her adulthood and her behavior and expectation of the men in her life.

She is a new psychologist in a men's prison. She meets and falls in love with a serial killer that is known as Cutthroat. They connect somehow on an emotional level due to her committing neonaticide when she was a teenager. 

Clare's relationship with Cutthroat almost gets Samantha and her friend, Ginny killed. Clare feels freed from Cutthroat and then she finds a note at her house saying to find him. It ends there. 

It's learned because Clare wanted Cutthroat to know that she had Samantha that she sent McKinnon (shady FBI lady) ultrasounds of Samantha. I think this was talked about to establish that Cutthroat's mom had been keeping tabs on her granddaughter and that's how he discovers that Sam & Ginny are going to San Francisco.

The thing that's confusing me though was how did they know where she lived and what her name was? Did Clare let it slip when she sent out the ultrasound of her new name and location? I must have missed something because I don't remember that being addressed. 

Because from my understanding she sent the ultrasound to the FBI lady when she lived in Oklahoma. She ends up moving to Texas and that's where she raises Samantha. So, how did Cutthroat's mom get more information???

Also, if she's keeping track of her granddaughter how did Cutthroat mess up that he grabs the wrong girl? Did they not find a picture of her on social media? I feel like I missed something there. It's established that Samantha looks like her father -- unless Cutthroat only realized they looked alike when he finally meets her later on in the book.

End of Spoilers

Recommend?: If you can handle stories that involve serial killers, child molestation/rape,neonaticide, suicidal thoughts/attempts and messed up characters...then, yes, it's recommended.

It's part of a series called Doctors of Darkness. But as far as I can tell the second book has no relations with the first book in regard to characters. It's called The Hanging Tree. The eBook is currently as I'm writing this 99 cents. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson Review

Title: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Author: Stieg Larsson, Translator: Reg Keeland
Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Release Day: September 16, 2008
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:It’s about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

About the Author: Stieg Larsson was a Swedish journalist and writer who passed away in 2004. As a journalist he was active in documenting & exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organizations.  Condensed from Goodreads. 

My review: I read this alongside my sister and mom as our makeshift book club. This was different than I had expected but it is enjoyable as a book club read. I don't think I would have made it through this if it wasn't for the fact I was reading and talking about it with my mom and sister.

Recommend?: Not really, no. The first two books of this are interesting enough to get through. I dropped out of reading this after trying to get through the third. So, whatever you wanna do with your time.

There are five in this series. The fourth and fifth were completed by David Lagercrantz as they were not completed before the author died.

Anthem - Ayn Rand - Review

Title: Anthem
Author: Ayn Rand
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary: Anthem has long been hailed as one of Ayn Rand's classic novels, and a clear predecessor to her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In Anthem, Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values. Equality 7-2521 lives in the dark ages of the future where all decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, and all traces of individualism have been wiped out. Despite such a restrictive environment, the spark of individual thought and freedom still burns in him--a passion which he has been taught to call sinful. In a purely egalitarian world, Equality 7-2521 dares to stand apart from the herd--to think and choose for himself, to discover electricity, and to love the woman of his choice. Now he has been marked for death for committing the ultimate sin. In a world where the great "we" reign supreme, he has rediscovered the lost and holy word--"I."

About the Author: Ayn Rand was a Russian-American author who wrote Anthem, The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged. Her stories revolved around a philosophical system she called Objectivisim. She achieved fame with her 1943 novel, The Fountainhead. In 1957, Rand published her best-known work, the novel Atlas Shrugged. Afterward, she turned to non-fiction to promote her philosophy, publishing her own periodicals and releasing several collections of essays until her death in 1982. 

 My Review: I read this alongside many other dystopian books the summer of 2014. I didn't like this. Struggled through this thinking something magical about her writing would happen...yet, nothing did. 

 Recommend: No. But we all have free will to self-torture.

School for Psychics by K.C. Archer Review

Book: The School For Psychics
Author: K. C. Archer
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Day: April 3, 2018!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Received from: Downloaded through Netgalley to read for an honest review!

Goodreads Summary:An entrancing new series starring a funny, impulsive, and sometimes self-congratulatory young woman who discovers she has psychic abilities—and then must decide whether she will use her skills for good or…not. Teddy Cannon isn’t your typical twenty-something woman. She’s resourceful. She’s bright. She’s scrappy. She can also read people with uncanny precision. What she doesn’t realize: she’s actually psychic. When a series of bad decisions leads Teddy to a run-in with the police, a mysterious stranger intervenes. He invites her to apply to the School for Psychics, a facility hidden off the coast of San Francisco where students are trained like Delta Force operatives: it’s competitive, cutthroat, and highly secretive. They’ll learn telepathy, telekinesis, investigative skills, and SWAT tactics. And if students survive their training, they go on to serve at the highest levels of government, using their skills to protect America, and the world. In class, Teddy befriends Lucas, a rebel without a cause who can start and manipulate fire; Jillian, a hipster who can mediate communication between animals and humans; and Molly, a hacker who can apprehend the emotional state of another individual. But just as Teddy feels like she’s found where she might belong, strange things begin to happen: break-ins, missing students, and more. It leads Teddy to accept a dangerous mission that will ultimately cause her to question everything—her teachers, her friends, her family, and even herself. Set in a world very much like our own, School for Psychics is the first book in a stay-up-all night series.

My Review: This was enjoyable. It's listed as a Young Adult on Goodreads. But if you look at Netgalley it is listed as General Fiction, Fantasy.

Recommend: Yes! Don't let Goodreads listing possibly sway you if you see it's listed as YA!

Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon by Kerrelyn Sparks

Downloaded through Netgalley to read for an honest review.

Kerrelyn Sparks is no stranger to the New York Times bestseller list, as her massive fan base couldn’t seem to get enough of her Love at Stake series. Sparks then introduced her extraordinary fantasy romance series, The Embraced, with How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days and So I Married a Sorcerer. Set in a medieval mythical world, the series follows a special group of people with powers born when the two moons of the world form an eclipse. Now comes the captivating third installment, EIGHT SIMPLE RULES FOR DATING A DRAGON (St. Martin’s Paperbacks; March 27, 2018), where readers meet Gwennore, our fierce and powerful new heroine.

Gwennore is an Elf able to track down the cause of an illness and heal it; a valuable asset to her people. But when she is thrust into the realm of the dragons, she discovers a haunted place of power and magic, plagued by an ancient curse. And then she meets the smoldering General Silas Dravenko. She’s been raised never to trust a dragon, but never did making a deal with the devil feel so good…

.

Gwennore is an Elf able to track down the cause of an illness and heal it; a valuable asset to her people. But when she is thrust into the realm of the dragons, she discovers a haunted place of power and magic, plagued by an ancient curse. And then she meets the smoldering General Silas Dravenko. She’s been raised never to trust a dragon, but never did making a deal with the devil feel so good…

Silas has no way of saving the royal family he’s served for years. But when a beautiful elf comes bursting into his world, Silas is awakened to desire in a way he’s never felt before. But can he trust a sworn enemy?

Filled with romance, adventure, and a vividly imagined new world, EIGHT SIMPLE RULES FOR DATING A DRAGON is a fantasy in the vein of Game of Thrones with all the fun of The Princess Bride. Audiences will become enthralled with Gwennore in a world where passion, fantasy, and royal intrigue collide. Return to the most exciting, magical and romantic series to come along in years in the stunning world of the Embraced!

About the Author:

Kerrelyn Sparks is best known (so far) for the Love at Stake series, which has hit as high as number 5 on the New York Times list and 22 on the USA Today list. Visit Kerrelyn on Facebook, Twitter, or her website, http://www.kerrelynsparks.com/.

EIGHT SIMPLE RULES FOR DATING A DRAGON:

The Embraced Series

By Kerrelyn Sparks

Published by St. Martin’s Paperbacks

**On Sale March 27, 2018**

Mass Market Paperback | $7.99

ISBN: 9781250108258 | Ebook ISBN: 9781250108265

For more information or to set up an interview with the author, contact:

Brittani Hilles at brittani.hilles@stmartins.com or 646-307-5558

Praise for Kerrelyn Sparks:

“Readers will be fully invested in this Embraced series!”

— Romantic Times on How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days

"Readers will relish Spark’s lovingly detailed and memorable tale and look forward to the next.”

— Booklist on How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days

“[Sparks] has produced a book that I'll come back to again and again. I'll be counting down the days till the next girl gets her story.”

— Night Owl Reviews on How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days

"A deeply satisfying, delightfully swoon-inducing close...full of vulnerability and tenderness."

— Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Crouching Tiger, Forbidden Vampire

"Mixing paranormal romance with humor, Sparks clearly has a style all her own, one that readers love."

— USA Today's Happily Ever After blog

"Sparks skillfully infuses her writing with a deliciously sharp wit."

— Booklist

My Review:

Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon is book three in the Embraced Series and it is an extremely fun read. It starts off like you're stepping into a historical fiction novel then you discover there are elves,  a whole other fantastical world, shifters, and DRAGONS! 

This is the first book I've ever read from Kerrelyn Sparks. I received an email from Netgalley stating that this book was available to download. So, I downloaded it out of curiosity and enjoyed it immensely. 

The characters are likeable and it's easy to become wrapped up in the story. I was fine reading this without the other two. I didn't even know it was apart of a series. It's lovely to accidentally stumble into a series when they're well written.

The Other Books in the Series:

How To Tame A Beast in Seven Days is book 1 in the series. This follows Luciana who is on the Isle of Moon being hidden because she has magical powers. She has the choice of staying on the island or marrying someone named Beast of Benwick.

So I Married A Sorcerer is book 2 in the series. It follows Brigitta who is Embraced living on the Isle of Moon. She discovers that she's actually a princess.

Where to Buy:

Amazon | BN | Others | Find A Library USA | Find Indie Store

 

Excerpt from Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon by Kerrelyn Sparks 

The Lord of the Flies - WIlliam Golding - Review

Purchase wherever they sell books!

Score: 4 / 5

Summary: Boys crash land on an island. Civilization between them dies out. Rescued.

First Sentence: The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon.

William wrote this in response to R. M. Ballantyne's book called The Coral Island. Which I was never told in high school while learning about the symbolism all up in it. For me, it would have been cool to know people write stories to counter or to reply to someone else's work with their own something-something.

I enjoyed reading this in high school it was a nice thinking novel. I would wonder, "Well, why did they become uncivil?" , "What triggered this behavior?", "Would different groups act this way?". This was ,if I remember a group of rich kids who crash land on the island. I wondered about if wealth had something to do with their reaction, being boys, trying to prove themselves.

It was a senior in high school read. I had taken AP English for the sole purpose of reading books. I'm a simple person...tell me you're going to do a bunch of book reading & I'm in. 

13 American Women's Firsts with books! 19th Century part 3

Welcome back to a list containing historical American women first to do [insert accomplishment].

 I am taking information or condensing information from this Wikipedia page. With the year and snip of information a book about the person is included.
.
Some women do not have books or I simply cannot find them. It's only one person running this blog so I can miss things fairly easily. If you know of a book that is just about the woman or one that mentions the woman please let me know. One of my lists includes a school book that mentions a lady. So, I mean, anything really.

Every woman on the list includes years, their name, accomplishment, a book (or several), and include their Wikipedia page. I know many people still stick their nose up to the idea of reading Wikipedia for facts but it's here to stay m'friends.

My tags only list a few things because blogger keeps telling me I've hit a limit if I pass ten tags. Maybe I am over tagging but I love tags.

Did I bite off more than I can chew with this? Probably. Do I care? Not at the moment. Will this silently die and no more posts? Possibly.

This list is first for women in America. 

1.   Louise Blanchard Bethune 1st woman to work as a professional architect.

2. Helen Magill White 1st woman to earn the Ph.D degree

3. Emma Abbott, 1st American woman to form her own Opera Company

4. Belva Lockwood, 1st woman to argue a case before the US supreme court.

5. Mary Myers  balloonist to become the 1st woman to fly solo !

6. Susanna M. Salter elected mayor of Argonia, Kansas becoming the 1st woman mayor in the country.

7. Phoebe Couzins 1st American  to serve as a US Marshall

8. Marie Owens believed to be the 1st woman police officer in America

9. Irene Williams Coit  1st woman to pass the Yale College entrance exam.

10. Wilhelmina Weber Furlong  1st American woman Modernist stuido painter from the early American Modernism scene.

11.  Florence Kelley - 1st woman to hold statewide office when Governor Peter Altgeld appointed her Chief Factory inspector for the state of Illinois.

12. Mary Irwin - 1st actress in America to kiss on screen for the film The Kiss.
 

13. Eleonora De Cisneros - 1st American trained opera singer that the Metropolitan Opera Company hired.

PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33349962
By Unknown - http://freenet.buffalo.edu/bah/a/archs/beth/bethfox.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2773691
By Unknown - NYPL Digital Gallery, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8514351
By Unknown - Pittsburgh Daily Post newspaper, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47129261
By Unknown photographer - Kansas Historical Society, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25804363
By Unknown - http://collections.mohistory.org/resource/146931, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47120251
By Unknown - Willard, Frances Elizabeth (1893) A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life, Moulton, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57693816
By Unknown - http://www.internationalwomansfoundation.org/past-events/past-artists/wihelmina-weber-furlong/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50414076
By Bain - Library of Congress, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61348919
By Uncredited or undetermined. - Internet, exact source irrelevant due to age., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13337236

10 American Women's Firsts with books! 19th Century pt. 2

I'm using Wikipedia  about historical American women & listing alongside the information a book about the women.

And, luckily for you I do not make my lists where you have to click to a new page for every person. They all will be on one post with a book related to them. I'll note where I didn't find a book. They're still getting listed though. I will include their Wikipedia page for all women listed.

If you know of a book specifically for a woman not listed or one that talks about these women please let me know! I appreciate the help.

1.  1865,  Mary Surratt 1st woman hanged by the federal government. She is conspired with John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
   
2.  1866, Mary Walker 1st woman to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
   
3. 1866, Lucy Hobbs Taylor 1st woman to graduate from dental school.
4. 1869, Arabella Mansfield 1st female lawyer in America
5. 1870, Louisa Ann Swain 1st woman in US to vote in a general election in Laramie, Wyoming.
6. 1870, Esther Hobart Morris 1st woman to serve as a Justice of the Peace.
   
7. 1870, Ada Kepley 1st woman to graduate from law school in America.
   A Farm Philosopher: A Love Story written by Ada Kepley
   
8. 1871, Frances Willard 1st American woman college president.
   
9. 1872, Victoria Woodhull 1st woman to run for US president.  There are a lot of books on her.
   
   
10. 1873, Ellen Swallow Richards 1st woman admitted to MIT, 1st accepted in any school of science or tech & 1st to earn a degree in Chemistry.
    

War Mother by Fred Van Lente

Downloaded through Netgalley to read for an honest review.

Score: 3/5

 First sentence: Salvage! Major salvage discovered!

Will be ready to buy March 13, 2018!

 Good:

Illustration and everything in that regard is engaging, fun to look at and just.. fantastic. I loved the first story that was in this.

Bad:

But I struggled through and couldn't finish it after I go to the middle of this. The story is just not something that caught me after awhile. I'll update if I re-read and see if thoughts about this change.

National Women’s History Month Book Ideas

National Women's History Month. I haven't been able to do something fun like this for the last two months. Medical problems get in the way. So, I'm going to do this while I'm still pretty mobile.

Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society.


Bad Girls Throughout History - Ann Shen. Book covers 100 remarkable  Women Who Changed the World.

 The Blazing World - Siri Hustvedt  about an artist who hides that she is a woman. She doesn't hide behind one male identity but three.

Book about Sally Ride America's first woman in space by Lynn Sherr.

Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky illustrated book that highlights 50 women who've impacted the world through the STEM fields.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 tales of extraordinary women by Elena Favilli. Illustrated biographies of a hundred different women to read to girls.

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy. This is a picture book about the Supreme Court justice Ruth's life.

Women in Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win by Rachel Ignotofsky.

Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History by Sam Maggs

Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics by Jason Porath.

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert