Review of The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

Title/Author: The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons #2) by Julia Quinn
Publisher/Date published: Avon, June 2006
How I got this book: bought it, as recommended by my Broke and Brookish friend Julia
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: 1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, this author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry.
And in truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better...
- Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814

But this time, the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry - he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield - the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate is the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands - and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate is determined to protect her sister - but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...

I don't think I can even count the number of times Julia from The Broke and the Bookish has recommended this book to me, and stickler for order as I am, I decided to first read The Duke and I and from there on slowly make my way through Julia Quinn's backlist and OMG GUYS, BEST DECISION EVER!!!

And also: worst decision that it took me so long to get to this one after reading The Duke and I!

To give you fair warning: i don't think I'll be able to stop gushing about this book for a while.

I completely fell in love with both Kate and Anthony. I thought he might make for an interesting hero as he did amuse me in The Duke and I as the very protective brother of Daphne. I love that both Kate and Anthony are so devoted to their families! They truly do care about their siblings and it shows and they are just good people. I loved that they go head to head and that Kate isn't afraid to tell him exactly what she thinks of him and how much she disapproves of him as a potential match for her sister. These two sparkled off the page and their interactions were just amazing to watch!

And seriously, within moments of starting the book, Julia Quinn had me smiling like a madwoman, because I was enjoying myself so much and she brings the wit as well as the swoons! I'm REALLY glad I was alone for one part of the book, where Anthony and Kate chase Kate's dog Newton all over Hyde Park, because I could not stop giggling and even laughing out loud! It was awesome! I loved the sibling rivalry between the Bridgertons and the comedy this brings in the form of a pink ball for Pall Mall and just *sigh* I love this family.

Kate and Anthony had amazing chemistry and OMG THE SEXYTIMES WERE SEXY! YES! All the swooning over Anthony in all of his sensitive man moments and just TEARS! I totally cried over parts and I'm not ashamed to admit it. My little romantic heart is still thanking me for picking up this book, because it was just SO GOOD and Anthony and Kate are so right for each other and there was tension and heartbreak and SPARKS and just ALL OF THE GOODNESS.

I really liked The Duke and I, but I LOVED The Viscount Who Loved Me! It's everything I want in a historical romance and I love how Julia Quinn brings the funny! I'll makes sure not to wait this long again before reading the next novel in the series! The Viscount Who Loved Me goes straight to my favourites shelf, highly recommended!

My rating: 5+ stars

Made me crave: crispy M&M's

Review of The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

Title/Author: The Bitter Kingdom (Girl of Fire and Thorns #3) by Rae Carson
Publisher/Date published: Greenwillow Books, August 27th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy it at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion - a champion to those who have hated her most. Riveting, surprising, and achingly romantic, Rae Carson has spun a bold and powerful conclusion to her extraordinary trilogy.

***WARNING: SPOILERS POSSIBLE FOR BOOK 1 AND 2 IN THE SERIES***

YOU GUYS! THIS BOOK! THIS BOOK! It broke my heart because the series has now come to an end, but it was just pretty much everything I could have wanted from it and then some!

I squealed and did happy dances and just had this big ol' grin on my face after I saw the egalley appear on Edelweiss and did some more of this when I downloaded it to my e-reader and kinda told my boyfriend I couldn't pay attention to him for a while now because I had to read this book. I've never been so happy to have time off from work as when I received this egalley and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to read it early.

But enough about my giddiness.

It cannot be a secret that I love this series and have lost my heart to Elisa and Hector and Mara and Belén and even Storm! And Rae Carson sure knows how to play with my emotions, because in The Girl of Fire and Thorns she made me fall in love with Umberto only to have him killed and rip my heart to pieces and then at the end of The Crown of Embers Hector was taken! HECTOR! The man who made me (er, Elisa) believe in love again and who is just so *sigh*. Seriously, my love for Hector rivals my love for Mr. Darcy and that is saying something.

So in The Bitter Kingdom we are right back in the action. Of course Elisa isn't just someone who will idly sit back while the Inviernos threaten both her, her kingdom and the man she loves. And I love her for that! Elisa isn't just the girl from the prophecy with the godstone, she's far more, she's intelligent, she's strong and I'm still amazed by how far she's come from the girl we met at the beginning of The Girl of Fire and Thorns. I loved that in The Bitter Kingdom she learns more about what she can do with her godstone and uses this power of hers.

I also loved that we get chapters from Hector's point of view because I simply can't get enough from this man and it was just such a treat to see things from his side and get to know him better.

I loved reconnecting with the characters I'd already met in the previous two books and there were some new characters introduced for me to either love or stare in horror at. I especially loved Mula/Red, who is just such an awesome little girl and doesn't know the meaning of discretion.

The stakes are high, the battles epic and I was constantly on the edge of my seat while reading The Bitter Kingdom. I didn't want to put it down and Rae Carson once again had me feeling ALL THE THINGS. And I love it. I love her writing style and the way I keep rooting for Elisa and the others and wanting them to be happy and healthy and I loved that I didn't see all the twists and turns coming and GAH, there are just not enough words to describe how much I love this book!

Without wanting to spoil anything I have to say that while I'm beyond sad the series has ended, The Bitter Kingdom was such a good ending to it and I am fully satisfied, though I would love it if Rae Carson wrote more books about this world just so I'll have a chance to go on more adventures with these characters!
The Bitter Kingdom was amazing and completely blew me away and I just loved it so much (in case you haven't noticed) and I will pick up whatever Rae Carson decides to write next!

My rating: 5+ stars

Review of Invisible by Marni Bates

Title/Author: Invisible (Awkward #2) by Marni Bates
Publisher/Date published: K-Teen, August 1st 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Jane Smith has survived three years of high school without making a single enemy, all by keeping a low profile. Not even her three best friends, Kenzie, Corey and Isobel, can say the same. But with Corey dating the lead singer from ReadySet and Kenzie in a relationship too, being invisible tends to be lonely. But now she's written an article for her school newspaper that has accidentally snagged the attention of some celebrities. Turns out, people get really upset when their innermost secrets are splashed all over the front page. And new her well-ordered life is being blasted to hell, with results that are wildly unexpected.

Guys, why have I never picked up Awkward?? I mean, seriously, Invisible is totally my kind of book!!

I loved Marni Bates' writing style! It's funny and quirky and totally engaging and I loved it from the minute I turned my eyes to the first page of Invisible! I love it when a cute contemporary deals with actual teen issues aside from the maybe less plausible plot of having her two friends get famous overnight, and Marni Bates totally made it work!

Jane sees herself as Invisible. And so does half of the school. She's embraced her nerdiness and as long as she has her best friends, she doesn't really care that she's not part of the popular crowd. And I like that. You create your own happiness and all that. But this turns into a problem when her friends actually do start having more of a social life and not really having time for Jane anymore. So now Jane has to decide if she's ok with her friends seeing her as an Invisible as well.

Guys, I could recognize so much of myself in Jane! I'm that girl who tries to avoid confrontation and who knows she's not sticking up for herself enough. And I loved seeing Jane grow as a person and overcome some of her fears and just branching out and meeting new people! She's challenging herself and I like that! And really, while her best friend Kenzie bored me at times (maybe this would have been different if I'd read Awkward?), I really enjoyed reading about her new crowd, including the school newspaper photographer and a Notable girl. Mostly because these people push her to be honest with herself and are maybe truer friends throughout the happenings in Invisible than her 'best friends'.

So Jane lands herself into some funny situations and falls in love and does all of it with a certain flair that I found totally endearing! I love that in the end she stands up to her friends and I was totally reminded of Dumbledore with the 'it takes greater courage to stand up to your friends than to your enemies' speech. And I loved that!

I breezed through Invisible and while I wasn't entirely sure about the romance going on, in the end it worked for me, though at times it felt like they were barely friends, let alone in love with each other. Invisible was such a lovely read that I'll be sure to pick up Notable (the next book in the series) when it comes out!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Made me crave: french fries

Review of The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe

Title/Author: The Sweetest Dark (The Sweetest Dark #1) by Shana Abe
Publisher/Date published: Bantam, April 2nd 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: “With every fiber of my being, I yearned to be normal. To glide through my days at Iverson without incident. But I’d have to face the fact that my life was about to unfold in a very, very different way than I’d ever envisioned. Normal would become forever out of reach.”

Lora Jones has always known that she’s different. On the outside, she appears to be an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl. Yet Lora’s been keeping a heartful of secrets: She hears songs that no one else can hear, dreams vividly of smoke and flight, and lives with a mysterious voice inside her that insists she’s far more than what she seems.

England, 1915. Raised in an orphanage in a rough corner of London, Lora quickly learns to hide her unique abilities and avoid attention. Then, much to her surprise, she is selected as the new charity student at Iverson, an elite boarding school on England’s southern coast. Iverson’s eerie, gothic castle is like nothing Lora has ever seen. And the two boys she meets there will open her eyes and forever change her destiny.

Jesse is the school’s groundskeeper — a beautiful boy who recognizes Lora for who and what she truly is. Armand is a darkly handsome and arrogant aristocrat who harbors a few closely guarded secrets of his own. Both hold the answers to her past. One is the key to her future. And both will aim to win her heart. As danger descends upon Iverson, Lora must harness the powers she’s only just begun to understand, or else lose everything she dearly loves.

I wanted to love this book so badly, especially because it has DRAGONS in it and I love dragons! But sadly, we never hit it off.

I really struggled with Lora as a main character, I couldn't connect to her and I actually didn't think she was a very nice person. I get that growing up the way she did, she had to be tough, but I don't know, something in her attitude just rubbed me the wrong way. I think this goes along way to my disconnect from the story in general, because I couldn't find myself rooting for her.

And seriously, I'm a bit tired of the love triangle always popping up. Lora, who never really had anything, now all of a sudden has two attractive boys running after her and there's insta-love going on with one of them and I don't know, it just did not work for me at all. Maybe also partly because I was rooting for the boy she didn't have the insta-love with, he seemed a far more interesting character than either Lora or Jesse. Though seriously, please stop having his pet name be Mandy, because UGH THAT IS JUST NOT MANLY OK?!

Ahem.

I did like the dragon- and starlore and thought these abilities that Lora has could have been expanded on aside from her turning to smoke and turning up somewhere else naked (a lot). I was fascinated by her ability to command people using her powers and then it just vanished. I would have loved to see her grow a bit more into all of it and just play around for a while.

I do have to say that the writing was beautiful, Shana Abe really knows how to turn a sentence. But it wasn't engaging and her characters weren't relatable and it all just fell a bit flat for me. I really ahd to push myself to finish The Sweetest Dark and wasn't even all that devastated at something that happens towards the end, which if I had been truly invested in this story, I surely would have been.

My rating: 2 stars

Made me crave: nacho cheese tortillas

Review of The Lady and the Laird by Nicola Cornick

Title/Author: The Lady and the Laird (Scottish Brides #1) by Nicola Cornick
Publisher/Date published: Harlequin HQN, July 30th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: An Indecent Proposal!

Lady Lucy MacMorlan may have forsworn men and marriage, but that doesn't mean she won't agree to profit from writing love letters for her brother's friends - letters that become increasingly racy as her fame grows. That is, until she deliberately ruins the betrothal of a notorious laird, Robert, Marquis of Methven.

Past centuries of bloodshed have left the Methven and MacMorlan families bitter enemies and Robert is furious that Lady Lucy's letters have cost him the bride he needs so urgently to save his ancestral clan lands. Now he makes Lucy a shocking proposal; in return for his silence she must become his wife and provide him with the heir he needs. It is an inconvenient marriage of convenience but can the rugged laird and the bluestocking beauty fight against the power of love?

So I've read some books by Nicola Cornick before and while the last one didn't work so well for me, the other two were wonderful and heartwarming and just all of the good things I want in a historical romance novel. So I was really looking forward to exploring the world of Scotland and lairds and KILTS with her. Sadly, there were no kilts. But it did have so many of the other things that I love that I'm willing to overlook this.

I really liked our heroine, Lucy. She's been through a really traumatic experience and I like that it hasn't left her unaffected. I mean seriously, you can't face something like that and just be ok. I also loved that at first we meet her and Robert before they both go through these traumatic experiences and are still young and hopeful and just really sweet. I loved the moment between them and was actually kinda sad it doesn't get referenced all that often.

So Lucy is a bluestocking and it's known in society that she writes legal letters. However, it's not known that she also writes erotic letters and I really had to laugh at this! I mean, really, it's funny that this perfect little virginal lady is writing letters that would probably make your ears burn (though we never really get to see any of the letters, sadly) based on what she's read in some of the naughty books in her library.

And here's the bottom line: I believed the romance between Lucy and Robert. They made a wonderful couple and once they started opening up to each other, it was SO GOOD! I did think that Lucy's issues got resolved a bit too easily and don't think that Robert's prowess in the bedchamber is the answer to this. I mean, hello, communication? I get that she loves him, but is that really the key to unlocking her fears? I'd say that she has a solid reason to be afraid and it got swept aside pretty quickly after being such a big issue for a long time.

I liked that Robert had to work to get Lucy to say yes to him, even when he'd compromised her and that she shows that although it's handy to have a man protect her, she can do a little protecting herself as well. There was some nice evil intrigue going on in the background and all in all it was a lovely story!
Though I wish there'd been a kilt somewhere in there.

My rating: 4,5 stars

Made me crave: mushroom pasta

Amsterdam Book Blogger Meet!!

HIIII!!!

I'm really excited to announce that on Saturday August 24th we'll be having a Book Blogger Picnic! I'm meeting up with four fabulous ladies for the weekend and we got inspired by the BEA Blogger Picnic and decided to host our own, only in Amsterdam!

Basically, we'll be meeting at the Vondelpark in Amsterdam at 't Blauwe Theehuis at noon:

And we'd love it if you came too!! We'll basically be eating, talking, laughing and all of that good stuff and the more, the merrier! Wouldn't it be fun to take over Amsterdam and conquer one of the bookstores together? :)

If you're worried about not being able to find us, either @ me on Twitter (@DBetweenpages) or DM me and I'll give you my phone number just in case. I'm actually from Holland, so I'll have both internet and network access :)
Oh, and you can see my face in motion in this post. I am actually this awkward in person, so it's accurate ;)


I'm so, SO excited for the whole weekend! I'm finally gonna be meeting these lovely ladies that I only 'know' throught Twitter and it's mindboggling and just YAYYYYY! :D

Here are my partners in crime:

Celine from Nyx Book Reviews

Karin from My Life...

Kat from The Aussie Zombie

Vicky from Books, Biscuits and Tea

Review of Mind Games/Sister Assassin by Kiersten White

Title/Author: Mind Games/Sister Assassin (Mind Games #1) by Kiersten White
Publisher/Date published: HarperTeen, February 19th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley and bought a shiny finished copy :)
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her — except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways... or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

So I'd heard some mixed things about Mind Games before starting it, some people seem to love it, others REALLY didn't like it. I'm glad to say I fall into the first category!

Confession: this is actually my first Kiersten White book, though I do own the whole Paranormalcy series... I suck.

I'd expected Mind Games to be about the world where girls can have mental abilities outside of the normal awesome things girls can do with their brains, and while it's about that, I felt that it was mostly about the bond between Fia and Annie. And I LOVED that! I loved these two girls who were true sisters and were truly looking out for each other and had the unconditional love going that SHOULD be there. This is what family should be like, sticking together no matter what.

Both Annie and Fia are strong in their own way and incredibly vulnerable and I loved that we switched between their POV and get a full picture of what is going on and what this means exactly for each of the girls. They definitely had a distinct voice and I never once forgot who I was reading about, though the switching back and forth in time meant I had to pay attention at the start of the chapter as to where exactly in the storyline we were. But seeing these flashes of their past years really added something extra to the story, so I was good with it.

What's happened to Annie and Fia is heartbreaking and they've been through so much, but they haven't given up, which I completely respected. Annie can't see, but she's dealing with it. Fia has had to do some horrible things, and while this has left her a little broken, she's hanging on and holding herself together. And they are so protective of each other! I'll say it again: I loved the bond between these two! LOVED!

I did prefer Fia's chapters, her bit of brokenness lent for some really interesting stream of thoughts and it actually reminded me a bit of Shatter Me in writing style. And I totally loved Shatter Me, so this worked very well for me :)

And OMG, THAT ENDING!! EEEE! I did not see that coming and I'm so happy that I already have the e-arc of Pretty Lies loaded onto my ereader, because I can seriously not wait until February 2014 to know what happens next!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Made me crave: fresh mint tea with honey

I'm Off To Mallorca!

Hi guys!

This is a mini-update so that I can tell you guys that I'm going to Mallorca for a week! The boyfriend and I are flying there tomorrow and we'll be back the Wednesday after.

So in the next week there'll be lots of quality time with the boyfriend, sunshine, beach, swimming, eating yummy Spanish food, drinking alcoholic beverages, exploring the island and generally relaxing. Oh, and of course I'm bringing books ;)

We'll have no internet connection, which means I will really not be around for a full week. It's probably been years since I went without internect access for this long, so we'll see how frantic I am when we get back. But this means that there will be posts going up on the blog, but I won't be able to comment on anything myself or answer emails or whatever, BUT I'll catch up when we get back!

I wish you all a wonderful week and I'll think of you while I'm soaking up the sun and having a cocktail :)

See you all next week!

Review of Midnight Frost by Jennifer Estep

Title/Author: Midnight Frost (Mythos Academy #5) by Jennifer Estep
Publisher/Date published: K-Teen, July 30th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Here we go again...

Just when it seems life at Mythos Academy can’t get any more dangerous, the Reapers of Chaos manage to prove me wrong. It was just a typical night at the Library of Antiquities — until a Reaper tried to poison me. The good news is I’m still alive and kicking. The bad news is the Reaper poisoned someone else instead.

As Nike’s Champion, everyone expects me to lead the charge against the Reapers, even though I’m still hurting over what happened with Spartan warrior Logan Quinn. I’ve got to get my hands on the antidote fast — otherwise, an innocent person will die. But the only known cure is hidden in some creepy ruins — and the Reapers are sure to be waiting for me there …

***WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST FOUR BOOKS IN THE SERIES***

Guys, it's not secret that I love mythology in YA and this series is a really good reason for why I love it so much! It has all the good stuff: gods, evil doers, awesome mythological creatures and weapons and I just love so many of the characters!

The issues that I had with Gwen in earlier books are pretty much cleared up by now, she's definitely grown as a person and is now a kickass person. Seriously. She can actually kick ass: HOORAY for her not being the damsel in distress anymore! She doesn't feel good about killing Reapers, but she does it, because she knows it's either her or them and she'd rather live another day. She's not the helpless girl she was and so much of her awkwardness has gone away, I love it! She's learning to overcome her problems with her powers and has toughened up quite a bit from when we first met her!

I was kinda sad we don't see much of Logan though, that Spartan boy really makes for some awesome scenes. He's sweet and strong and he really cares about Gwen and it was heartbreaking to see him doubt himself so much because of what happened to him in the last book with the whole being possessed by Loki thing and all. He kinda ran away because of it and I really appreciated that Gwen calls him out on it at one point. She does have a point and someone had to say it, though maybe it could have been done a little less harshly.

Also: we meet another mythological creature: gryphons and they are AWESOME! Seriously, the black rocs are totally scary, but gryphons rule. I totally love this side of the mythology and it added another something to the story. And I'm so happy Nyx is still around! That cute little furball of a Fenrir pup is so adorable! Nyx pouncing on Hello Kitty totally made me laugh!

So we learn a little more about the plans of the reapers and the gods and about Gwen's mission and it made me excited for things to come! I wonder when the epic fight will actually take place, but for now I'm good exploring this world and hanging out with all my favourite warriors, Alexei being one of my new favourites from the last book. He's just so cool!

I also think that the writing has gotten so much better over the course of the series! I love what Jennifer Estep is doing and it made for one entertaining afternoon full of action and fun.

My rating: 4,5 stars

Made me crave: Nibb-Its

Daisy Update (49)

Hi guys!!

So it's been a bit of a weird week for me, since the boyfriend was barely home and the weather wasn't as lovely as it's been the past couple of weeks, but I still managed to keep myself entertained :)

Monday it was about 30C outside and sunny, so I spent the day reading at the lake near our house once again and I just love soaking up the sun! I don't really get a tan or anything, but it's nice to just lay there and be comfortably warm because there was this nice little wind blowing as well and yeah, I just do better in warm weather :)
That night I went over to one of my friend's house to have dinner and watch America's Next Top Model together. I love hanging out with her and watching this is just something we do together.

Tuesday was filled with doing nothing but go food shopping and read and visiting some TTTs. Oh, and I started watching an old season of ANTM, back when it was so much more fun and they were VERY critical during judging and had to do all crazy assignments as well. It's awesome, even if I know who will win it.

I had originally planned to go shopping for some nice summer dresses and a bikini on Wednesday, but the weather was so blah and rainy and just nasty that I decided to hole up in the apartment instead. I did film the vlog for the Book Banging intro post that day, you can go see me be awkward in front of a camera and gush about book boyfriends here. I had a lot of fun doing this!!

On Thursday I also just sat at home and read, aside from the time I had to go over to the boyfriend's sister's place because they were delivering her new bed and she couldn't be there herself (volunteering at the same kids' entertainment week thingy that the boyfriend was at), so I let the nice men in and they carried the bed up two flights of stairs. And I read BOUNDLESS by Cynthia Hand! And OMG, SERIOUSLY THAT BOOK!! I mean, OMG, I just have SO MANY FEELINGS!! I already wrote my review, so it'll be up in the next couple of weeks (I can't believe how many reviews I still have lined up because of all the reading I've been doing these last couple of weeks).

Friday I actually went shopping, but came home with virtually nothing (at least, for me it was nothing, I usually come home with LOTS of stuff)... There weren't any cute happy clothes, they all looked sad and depressing and if this is what I can expect for this Fall, well, let's just say this won't make for a happy Daisy. Everything was so blah and I really wanted a new bikini but the only things they had were either itsy bitsy tiny things or HUGE (or a combination of a teeny tiny bottom with a huge top, or the other way around), so yeah, that wasn't going to work.

Yesterday I went for a tiny shopping trip again because I'd forgotten to buy the boyfriend's mother a birthday present on Friday. And I somehow managed to get FOUR blisters walking in my new heels and seriously, that is just silly! I wasn't even walking in them that long and I've walked in them before and just UGH! Please stop murdering my feet, because you are so pretty!
At night the boyfriend came home (yay!) and we went over to one of his friend's for his birthday. It was nice, the only thing is that they don't really live near us, so I drove 3 hours total that night, and as the boyfriend was dead tired from the whole week, he slept the whole ride back, so that was kinda boring.

In about an hour we'll be going over to the boyfriend's parents' because his mother is celebrating her birthday. So this Sunday will be filled with lots of family and food and sitting around in a food coma because of all said food ;)

I hope you're all having a great week!

Review of Undercurrent by Paul Blackwell

Title/Author: Undercurrent by Paul Blackwell
Publisher/Date published: HarperTeen, July 23rd 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: A shadowy figure. An intense roar. The sensation of falling — fast.

That’s all Callum Harris remembers from his tumble over the waterfall. But when he wakes up in a hospital bed and finds his best friend trying to kill him, Callum knows something is seriously wrong. Unfortunately for him, the mysteries are just getting started.

Why are his parents acting like he’s some big sports star all of a sudden? And why are all the buildings in town more run-down than Callum remembers? Worst of all... what happened to Callum’s brother? Either Callum has gone seriously crazy or something happened when he went over the falls. Something impossible. Callum needs answers, and now. Because in this twisted new version of the life Callum knew, his former best friend isn’t the only one who wants to see him dead.

Filled with mind-bending suspense and unsettling thrills, Undercurrent is a grippingly paced teen debut that will pull you under and never let go.

I was really excited to start this book, it sounds like my kind of creepy supernatural occurence with the whole alternate universe and such. And I'm sad to say that it didn't work for me.

There was such amazing potential, I mean, landing in an alternate universe where everything Callum knew is upside down? And why did he go over the waterfall in the first place? But I never felt excitement or that edge where you're dying to know what'll happen in the end, turning the pages to find out. Instead I was kinda... bored.

Callum is supposed to be this likeable boy in his own universe, but I never really could relate to him. I mean, all the memories are of him being a bit of a nerd and unpopular and hanging out with two pretty nice kids, of which he was secretly in love with the girl. And it sounded nice. But I never warmed up to him in his alternate universe. I mean, I don't know if it's his changed environment or anything, but he's having anger management issues and being a jerk to his mom and to other people in general. It seems like the Callum from the alternate universe was a psycho who for some reason was really popular, but the story-Callum isn't such a nice guy himself.

I was really annoyed by the fact that he claims to be so in love with one girl and then goes off and fools around with another just because she's hot. I mean, seriously? If you're the nice guy you claim, you wouldn't be doing that. I felt like we never really go very deep into other characters either, they're the superficial people acting like scenery to the events.

Which brings me to my next issue: not much of anything really happens. Callum isn't trying all that hard to figure out what happened and I was seriously worried this would be one of those unexpected series books because I couldn't figure out how Paul Blackwell would wrap this up in 10 pages. Turns out you can do that, it just wasn't very satisfying for me. And it definitely didn't solve all that many problems aside from the obvious one. Nothing real got fixed. The Callum from the alternate universe is still as much of a jerk as he used to be and his life a big mess and that's about it.

I did like the parts where Callum is bonding with his dog Jess and I really appreciate that she didn't die somewhere along the way, cause at one point I was REALLY worried about this. I also liked that Callum didn't magically become good at sports like his alternate universe self was, just because he went over the waterfall.

But all together this book wasn't for me. The summary sounded really exciting and like something I would love, but the execution fell flat for me.

My rating: 1,5 stars

Made me crave: cheese

Book Banging Intro Post: In which I talk about my favourite book boyfriends!

So I was all over the place excited when Kelly mentioned that she was going to be doing this new feature and YAYYY!!! I love so many fictional guys and I can't wait to talk to you about all of them!

Here is my intro vlog, excuse my awkwardness and bad accent and just generally being crap at pronouncing names...
And seriously, this is me when I get excited. I talk with my hands (seriously, you can't even see them the whole time, but trust me, I'm flapping them around so much more out of frame...) and move all over the place :)



So yeah, I have no idea why I'm making that face at the end either...
Also, I have no idea how to edit a video, otherwise that part where you see me trying to figure out Shadow and Bone's name would so have gotten cut out...

Oh, and because I forgot to mention it in the video:
Man of the month: FOUR from Divergent by Veronica Roth

Anyway, let me know what you think. Should I be put in a box and never allowed to vlog again? Like any of my boys?

Blog Tour: Review and GIVEAWAY of The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon

Title/Author: The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon
Publisher/Date published: Touchstone, August 6th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: What if Rapunzel was Snow White’s evil stepmother? From the author of Godmother and Mermaid, The Fairest of Them All explores what happens when fairy tale heroines grow up and don’t live happily ever after.

Living in an enchanted forest, Rapunzel spends her days tending a mystical garden with her adoptive mother, Mathena. A witch, Mathena was banished from court because of her magic powers, though the women from the kingdom still seek her advice and herbal remedies. She waits, biding her time to exact revenge against those who betrayed her.

One day Rapunzel’s beautiful voice and long golden locks captivate a young prince hunting in the forest nearby. Overcome, he climbs her hair up to her chamber and they fall into each other’s arms. But their afternoon of passion is fleeting, and the prince must return to his kingdom, as he is betrothed to another.

Now king, he marries his intended to bring peace to his kingdom. They have a stunning daughter named Snow White. Yet the king is haunted by his memories of Rapunzel, and after the mysterious death of his wife, realizes he is free to marry the woman he never stopped longing for. In hopes of also replacing the mother of his beloved daughter, the king makes Rapunzel his queen.

But when Mathena’s wedding gift of an ancient mirror begins speaking to her, Rapunzel falls under its evil spell, and the king begins to realize that Rapunzel is not the beautiful, kind woman he dreamed of.

I'm so excited to be part of this blog tour!! Head all the way down to enter the GIVEAWAY for this book, believe me, youwant this!

Guys, I love fairytale retellings. I love fairytales and all these retellings are just adding that extra bit of depth to them that I so, SO love! And The Fairest of Them All was definitely a lot darker than the original tale!

I love that Carolyn Turgeon is combining two of my favourite fairytales: Snow White and Rapunzel. And seriously, we're told in the summary that Rapunzel turns into Snow White's evil stepmother, but really, I was so rooting for that girl! She had an unconventional upbringing by Mathena Gothel and actually had amazing abilities with also a really cool link to her hair. Mathena teaches her basic herbal treatments and some spells, women mainly visit them looking for a cure to their heartache.

Rapunzel mainly grows up surrounded by women and it pretty naive in spite of her hearing about other women's heartache over men and I could see how she would get carried away when she met the prince. I mean, sure, it all progresses VERY quickly, they forget to actually forge a relationship before falling into bed together. And of course, things can't end well and the prince ends up leaving to marry another girl, leaving Rapunzel heartbroken.

This experience and some of the awful things that happen to her after really shape the rest of Rapunzel's life. And I can understand how she could change into a less kind person. She has to be to get what she wants and she's been hurt herself. The mirror really does urge the jealousy on and Rapunzel gets caught up in it.

And then we have Snow White. Who I LOVED when she first enters the scene as a little girl, but then she changes as well and it's easy to see how Rapunzel, who I felt really wanted to love her, would develop a grudge against her. It's easy to see how things spiral out of control from there and it's a bit scary as well, because it makes the traditional evil queen seem so human.

I love how everything unfolds at the end, I love the dark twists to this beloved fairytales and I love how Carolyn Turgeon made it all come together and that ending! Seriously! That still kinda broke my heart, though it's also filled with a little hope for the future. This is definitely recommended, though keep in mind there is some very mature content.

My rating: 4 stars

Made me crave: rhubarb

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carolyn Turgeon is the author of five novels: Rain Village (2006), Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story (2009), Mermaid (2011), which is being developed for film by Sony Pictures, and The Next Full Moon (2012), her first and only book for middle-grade readers. Her latest novel, The Fairest of Them All, comes out in August 2013 from Touchstone/Simon & Schuster and is about Rapunzel growing up to be Snow White's stepmother. She lives in Pennsylvania and New York and teaches fiction writing at the University of Alaska at Anchorage's Low-Residency MFA program. She's currently at work on a new novel about Dante's Beatrice, set in thirteenth-century Florence.

Visit Carolyn's website at http://carolynturgeon.com.
Visit Carolyn's mermaid blog at http://iamamermaid.com/
Follow Carolyn on Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolynturgeon
Follow Carolyn on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolynturgeonbooks

***GIVEAWAY***
(1) Signed paperback of The Fairest Of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon.

And guys, it's open internationally! What are you waiting for??

a Rafflecopter giveaway


So, Question of the Day:
What is your favourite fairytale? Would you like a retelling of it?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wish Had Sequels

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by my other blog The Broke and the Bookish.

This week we're talking about books we wished had sequels. And really, there are some books out there that I just can't seem to figure out there's not a sequel (yet)! I hope we'll see some of them pop up in the future :)

1. Witchlanders by Lena Coakley: Witchlanders is the first book that popped into my head when I saw the topic. You guys, it's SUCH a great book and it hasn't really gotten a lot of buzz, but this right here is me BEGGING for a sequel!

2. The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell: Oh man, this is one of the best debuts I've read this year and it's fantasy and I am SO not done having adventures with all these characters!!

3. The International Kissing Club by Ivy Adams: This was such a fun book!! I loved the collaboration between these 3 authors and I really hope they'll write a sequel to the International Kissing Club!

4. The Demon Catchers of Milan by Kat Beyer: I really enjoyed this book and it FELT like the first in a series, but I can't find anywhere if there's gonna be a sequel or not...

5. The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson: Ok, so I know this isn't even out yet, but I LOVED this book and this whole series so much and more of Elisa and Hector can NEVER be a bad thing!

6. Tarnish by Katherine Longshore: SO much love for this book!! It totally made Anney Boleyn human and was just amazing and while we left it on a hopeful note, I would love to see Katherine Longshore describe the rest of Anne's story. Or write another novel about an amazing historical figure. Or anything at all. I'm not all that picky here.

7. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: as the other books will be companion novels, it doesn't really count and I'd love another book focused on Anna and Etienne!

8. The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab: LOVED this book! It read like a fairytale and I'm wondering what will happen in the town after the events in the Near Witch!

9. The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima: This is the ending to one of my favourite fantasy series EVER. And I so want to stay in this world and hang out with Han and Raisa again and everybody else!

10. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss and ALL THE OTHER SEQUELS IN SERIES I'M WAITING FOR: Yeah, there are so many books that I'm dying to read the sequels of and they will actually be published, but AAAH THE WAIT IS KILLING ME!

So there you have it, I cheated slightly on the last one, but the others are genuine wishes for more books PLEASE!
Leave me a link to your TTT and I'll be sure to check it out!

Review of Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title/Author: Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth
Publisher/Date published: Katherine Tegen Books, May 3rd 2011
How I got this book: bought it TWO YEARS AGO (ugh, I suck)
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue — Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is — she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are — and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves... or it might destroy her.

So do you remember how I admitted to being majorly scared of this book?? AND OMG WHY DIDN'T I READ THIS SOONER??? AAAH IT WAS SO GOOD!!

Anyone want to do an I-told-you-so dance? Cause you totally can, I deserve it. Each and every one of you was totally justified in screaming at me.

My Broke and Bookish buddy Jana offered to read it with me and AAAH! I am SO glad I finally picked this up!! I did virtually nothing other than read it since I opened the book this afternoon!!

So I admit that at first I was a bit sceptic, because seriously, I didn't really see what all the fuss about Four was about. He seemed like a bit of a jerk for the first couple of chapters after we meet him, but after that HOLY WOWZA, consider me convinced! The boy is just *SWOON* So now we're totally cool :)

I love Tris. She's a beautifully flawed character and I loved that she struggled with the different qualities of her personalities, trying to fit in, but not really being able to conform. LOVED. At one point I was sort of wondering when the whole Divergent thing would kick into action and show some merit, but I'll just say that in the end Veronica Roth totally comes through on this aspect!

The whole world that Veronica Roth has developed is fascinating! People are sort of brainwashed to believe they belong in only one faction and then just adjust their whole life around the one quality of said faction and with each faction picking up different responsibilities, it's a well-oiled machine. Until something screws it up (because really, without conflict there would be no book, or at least not an interesting one). I was so intrigued by all the goings-on of Dauntless alone, and that's without seeing the inner workings of the other factions!

Divergent shows how cruel people can be when pushed to survive. Because that's basically what initiation in Dauntless is, a struggle to survive IN the faction. It's not safe and it's scary and I would definitely not have made it. It was amazing to see how Tris grows and develops strength and learns who her true friends are.

And again: THE BOY! FOUR! I am definitely a fan now! He was swoony and amazing and full of boyness and GAH! YES! And they had some totally hot and sweet moments and just fit together really well! They actually make sense together and I actually almost cried when something BIG happened and screamed at Jana over Whatsapp!

The pace was always up, but towards the end it really got running and my heart was racing and I was holding the book a little too tightly and just felt like I was there in the moment with Tris trying to make everything alright and knowing that it could never ALL be alright again! It was devastating and GLORIOUS!

I cannot stop gushing over this book and I already know it will be another book I start pushing onto other people (I'm gonna start with the boyfriend I think), because it is THAT GOOD. Seriously, if like me you have been too scared to read it, don't wait any longer: it lives up to the hype. It is that good. Go read it.

My rating: 5+ stars

Made me crave: NOTHING, too much tension to eat!

Daisy Update (48)

Hi guys!

Before I forget: I have a giveaway going on for Mist by Susan Krinard and it really needs some more entries! Open to US/CAN (sorry, I'm not shipping the books myself..) and you can find it at the bottom of this post!

I'm back on a shiny new laptop that doesn't overheat and is SO much faster than the old one! It does everything I want it to do and I'm just very happy with it :)

So in case you didn't know: my laptop couldn't handle the heat and decided it was time to retire. Which meant that I was basically trying to get everything on my external hard drive before it shut itself down again. Yeah, that took a lot of time... But it worked and with a little help from one of my friends and my dad I picked out a new computer which got delivered last Wednesday, so yay :)

It's been REALLY hot here the last couple of weeks! We had temperatures up to 34C and I am loving it. A lot of people are complaining that it's too hot, but really, it's finally summer here in Holland and as long as I'm not doing much of anything besides reading, I'm totally good with it. It's been nice and sunny and I've been spending a lot of time at the lake near our house, relaxing in the sun and taking a dip every now and then to cool down.

The upside to having my laptop crash was that because I wasn't spending so much time poking around Twitter and other random sites, and because of this I read way more books! And I've been cleaning the house and doing all those little things that need doing. And having lots of dance parties by myself! Ever since I started doing Blogilates, I feel so energized and whenever a song I like comes on the radio, I just get up and dance around :) I'm feeling happy and relaxed and guys, this time off from work has just been really good for me. I'm cooking yummy new recipees and spending quality time with the boyfriend and with my friends and it's just been wonderful :)

So these last two weeks have been pretty uneventful actually. And I love it!

I went out to dinner with two of my friends to try the new sushi place, and while I still loved the food, the pieces of sushi were a bit too big to eat comfortably. But we stuffed ourselves until there was just no more room left for ANY food and I went home in a sushi induced food coma :)

This week I've been unable to walk for a couple of days due to one of the Blogilates exercises I did last Saturday, it completely murdered my calves! So from Sunday till Tuesday, I couldn't straighten my legs when I got up and had to stretch for a couple of minutes before I could actually walk. It was REALLY painful and I felt like such a little old lady walking around like that! It felt like such a victory to be able to get up on Thursday and just WALK! So now I know to take it a little easier on that particular exercise.

Friday night the boyfriend and I went out to dinner, it was lovely! I love going out to dinner and just sitting down and talking all night. It was especially nice because he'll be at his parents' pretty much all of the coming week and I needed a little quality time together before that. I'm gonna miss him this week, he's doing volunteer work entertaining kids in the village he comes from all week, so while he'll make a stop at home maybe one or two times, I probably won't really get to spend time with him until Saturday/Sunday.

Yesterday we went out for drinks with another couple and we spend a relaxing evening sitting around and talking. We have such an easy friendship going between the four of us and I love spending time with them! And the weather has been so nice that we could sit outside till about 1AM.

So in about 15 minutes I'll be dropping the boyfriend off at his parents' house and then I'm going to spend the rest of the day at my parents'. We're having a barbecue and I need to catch up with my mom and cuddle the dogs :)

I hope you're all having a great week!!

Review of How To Marry A Highlander by Katharine Ashe

Title/Author: How To Marry A Highlander (Falcon Club #3.5) by Katharine Ashe
Publisher/Date published: Avon Impulse, July 30th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: With seven troublesome half sisters to marry off, Duncan, the Earl of Eads, has one problem: he's broke.

With the prospect of marriage to the pompous local curate, Miss Teresa Finch-Freeworth has one dream: to wed instead the handsome Highlander she saw at a ball.

How does a desperate lady convince a reluctant laird that she's the perfect bride for him? She strikes a wager! If she can find seven husbands for seven sisters, the earl must marry her.

Duncan has no intention of wedding the meddlesome maiden, and he gives her a deadline even the most audacious matchmaker can't meet — one month. But Teresa sets terms, too: with each bridegroom she finds, the earl must pay her increasingly intimate rewards...

So you guys may know how much I LOVE Katharine Ashe's books. Because I totally do! Her historical romance ranks among my favourites and I ALWAYS pick up her newest release because they always leave me smiling.

I hadn't seen that this was actually a novella before I started it, which explained why things progressed rather quickly and parts that we'd otherwise would have seen got skipped a bit. But this didn't detract from the storyline! Though I still love full length novels more.

So I can sorta remember this scene in one of the earlier books in the series where Duncan sees Teresa and just turns and walks out. I thought this was weird at the time and am glad it was explained in this novella!
Teresa is a free spirit, her parents have picked a man for her to marry and she's not at all inclined to waste herself on this boring, pompous man. So she devises a plan that is kinda ridiculous, but so much fun to read about! I mean, seriously, if she'd been one of my friends I'd have sat her down and talked her out of it, but I'd also have gone after Duncan for her. I liked that Teresa throws everything in accomplishing what she's set out to do: get Duncan's sisters engaged and then marry Duncan herself. And getting a little kissing and sexytimes action in the process!

I could respect Duncan's reluctance to get married again, he's been through a lot and to give your heart away and risk it after that... I can understand why he wouldn't be so eager. The scenes from his POV are actually the ones that made my stomach clench the most! I mean, he's so honorable and loves his sisters and he's fighting his attraction to Teresa and GAH it was just SO GOOD! He's full-on alpha male and you know guys, sometimes I love me some testosterone.

I started this right before going to bed and read all the way through because I could not put it down. I totally love Katharine Ashe's writing style and had to do some soft sniffling because the boyfriend was already sleeping and I was still reading and CRYING over their romance! Seriously, ALL THE FEELINGS! I don't think I've ever loved a novella this much!

My rating: 5 stars

Made me crave: peanut M&M's

Blog Tour and Giveaway of Mist by Susan Krinard!

Summary: Centuries ago, all was lost in the Last Battle when the Norse gods and goddesses went to war. The elves, the giants, and the gods and goddesses themselves were all destroyed, leaving the Valkyrie Mist one of the only survivors. Or so she thought.

When a snowy winter descends upon modern-day San Francisco in June, Mist’s quiet existence starts to feel all too familiar. In quick succession, Mist is attacked by a frost giant in a public park and runs into an elf disguised as a homeless person on the streets... and then the man Mist believed was her mortal boyfriend reveals himself to be the trickster god Loki, alive and well after all these years.

Loki has big plans for the modern world, and he’s been hanging around Mist to get access to a staff that once belonged to the great god Odin. Mist is certain of one thing: Loki must be stopped if there is to be any hope for Earth. But the fight is even bigger than she knows.
Because Loki wasn’t the only god to survive.

Hi guys!! I'm so excited to be participating in the blog tour for Mist by Susan Krinard! I recently read and reviewed the book and today I have the honour of having Susan Krinard herself here for an interview!

1. Tell us 5 (random) things about yourself that many people might not know about you

-I’m a big fan of superhero movies, especially the character Loki in the recent Thor movies and (pant pant) Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. This makes me a dirty old lady. (Well, not that old. 54 years young. How many 54-year-olds do you know who want to be Wolverine, not just wish you were about fifteen years younger and that he was still single? And that his abs are fab?)

-I was a huge tomboy as a kid and never, ever played with dolls. Dinosaurs and cowboys and superheroes were my thing.

-I stood on the ancient Hadrian’s Wall (what’s left of it) in Northumberland and imagined myself as a Roman soldier.

-I met my husband through our mutual love of the SF author C.J. Cherryh, and fell in love with him through old-fashioned letters. We met for the first time (physically) at LACon (Worldcon) many, many years ago. We have been married nearly 28 years, and he is a fellow nerd/geek.

-I wanted be a paleontologist when I was about six years old.


2.Have you always wanted to be a writer? Did you ever dream of doing something else?

Actually, I wanted to be a SF/Fantasy cover artist! I had always loved looking at cover art, so I went to what is now known as the California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA. However, looking back, I know I never really worked hard enough, so when I took my portfolio to NY, I didn’t get any jobs. Still, I always told stories to myself from a very young age, and wrote some fanfic before attempting a novel. It came very naturally to me, and I sold my first paranormal romance manuscript to the second publisher I sent it to. (I was actually afraid, in those days, to even try to sell straight SF/Fantasy, and it took until just a few years ago, after seventeen years as a pro novelist, before I felt up to it!)


3. When did you become interested in mythology? What draws you to Norse mythology?

For me—before I learned about SF/Fantasy—I was looking for other literary ways of escape, so as a young child mythology provided that kind of escape. In a lot of ways, mythology is SF/fantasy. Norse mythology attracts me because it gives me so much to work with: gods, elves, giants, monsters, valkyrie, etc. As with most pantheons, the gods are very “human.” And it’s a mythology that hasn’t been used much in urban fantasy.


4. Which part of Mist was your favourite part to write and which character? I found myself very much looking forward to seeing more of Dainn while reading Mist.

Favorite part? Hard to choose. I love the scene where Mist first meets Dainn under unusual circumstances, she doesn’t trust him, and they’re sparring on the way back to her loft. I enjoyed her first fight with Loki. And Dainn’s scenes with Loki near the end, especially the part where Loki is trying on clothes at the tailor’s.

Characters? That’s also very hard to choose. I’d have to say Dainn and Loki. While I loved Mist, I grew up relating to male protagonists (not as many good female ones in the ancient days) and I do have fun writing them. Dainn is a very complex character and full of angst (which I love), torn between his desire to overcome a part of himself he hates, his feelings for Mist, and the fate of earth (Midgard.) And Loki, being so completely uninhibited, is also fun. Mist is very straightforward, so her conflicts are more subtle. Still, she has a lot on her plate to deal with, and she is at the center of everything.

(Also, please keep in mind that I wrote “my” Loki in a novelette for a Tor anthology well before the movies came out, so any similarities are purely coincidental!)

5. If you could only name one myth that you love, which would it be and why?

“Loki’s Flyting” in the Lokasenna in the Prose Edda. He attends a feast given by the sea god Aegir and proceeds to behave very naughtily (he kills one of Aegir’s servants because he didn’t welcome Loki properly, in Loki’s no-so-humble opinion.) Loki gets kicked out of the hall, sneaks back in, and proceeds to insult all the gods and goddesses feasting there. Many of the insults are sexual in nature, and he and Odin are particularly nasty to each other. Still, the laws of hospitality won’t let them throw him out again, so he hangs around making everybody very, very angry. But when Thor shows up, he threatens to knock Loki’s head off, and Loki finally admits defeat.

The funny thing about Loki is that he often helped and even saved the gods, but then he’d turn around and do something like this. Eventually, they got sick of him and bound him in a cave with a serpent dripping venom into his face.

6. On your site, you mention your pets, what is the worst/funniest thing they ever did? Did any of them ever chew on your shoes?

Our eldest dog, Freya (in the human equivalent of her 80’s now) once chewed two very large holes in our fairly new couches when we left her alone to go out somewhere. We learned not to leave her alone again, at least not free to roam around the house!

7. What do you do for fun when you're not writing?

Read. Watch old movies (30’s-early 60’s). Sit outside in spring or summer and look at my garden and the open space behind it (all high desert.) Go out for dinner with friends. Create art of all kinds, which I have been far too busy to do for all too many years.

8. Tell us about the last book you loved

“Love” is a big word, and I reserve it for only a very few books. I have liked many books, but love? Where I thought I’d die before I could get my hands on the sequel? I’d have to go back over a year to a book that isn’t even SF: Rebecca Cantrell’s City of Broken Glass, part of a series of a woman German reporter who slowly watches her country fall apart under Hitler and has to stay alive while helping those suffering under the regime. (Alas, she didn’t write another book this year and hasn’t got any mention of a fifth one on her website, even though she left the last book with a cliffhanger ending!)

9. What/who is your all-time favourite book/author?

I can’t say which book, because I’ve been reading SF/fantasy, historical novels and historical mystery for too many years. But C.J. Cherryh has consistently been among my favorites, along with Lois McMaster Bujold.

10. You walk into a bar, there's a guy with gorgeous hair (maybe resembling Mr. Darcy slightly, he definitely has the English accent down) sitting there. What would you tell him to convince him to read Mist?

There’s a guy in the book who looks a lot like you.

Thank you so much for being here today Susan! I love your answers to my questions and totally laughed at the last one! :)

SUSAN KRINARD is the author of twenty-three romance novels and twelve novellas. Krinard grew up in the San Francisco bay area. She currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband Serge Mailloux, two cats, and three dogs.
www.susankrinard.com






You thought we were done right? We're not! The nice people from Tor have kindly offered to let me give away a copy of Mist!

***GIVEAWAY***
-Open to US/Canada addresses only
-If under 13 you have to have approval from a parent/legal guardian
-Open from August 1st to August 8th 2013
-The winner will be contacted through e-mail
-The winner will have 48 hours to get back to me with their details, otherwise I will pick another winner

a Rafflecopter giveaway