Let's Discuss: Pancakes or Waffles?

So I was reading a promo email I got from Kelloggs and saw that they were going to have for the season Gingerbread Pancakes and I was like...pancakes? Why not waffles? And that brought to mind a great discussion...

 

Pancakes or Waffles?

Which do you prefer? I've always been more of a waffle girl myself! To me, pancakes just get too soggy too quickly. Waffles have that slight toasted crispiness to it! I remember as a kid being told I needed to finish my pancake breakfast and it was always a struggle. I guess that was just what was for breakfast that day.

But yeah, every time I have breakfast with my family for whatever reason and if pancakes are being made, I just pass. I'd rather have a waffle! I know Eggo has some holiday flavored ones but I never had one myself. These days I go for the healthier ones. Lol!

So what about you? Are you a pancake or waffle person? Or do you like both? Or neither? What's your stance?

 

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.

 

Last Week I Read:

Nothing was finished! I'm reading a beautifully BIG book and was too busy to get a lot read this past week.

Reviews That Were Posted:

Defending the Galaxy by Maria V. Snyder (ARC) (5 stars)
The Bright and Breaking Sea by Chloe Neill (ARC) (2 stars)
Grave War by Kalayna Price (ARC) (4.5 stars)

Currently Reading:

Crush by Tracy Wolff

What I Plan to Read Next:

Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft (ARC)

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Waiting on Wednesday
Random Thursday
Book Blogger Hop
Stacking the Shelves

 

 

 

 

 

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! The meme is now hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality.

 

Well, this was a sad week for books. I was doing the dangerous activity of used book shopping online. The first book I received ended up being an ex-library book and after a quick verification, the website description did NOT say whatsoever that there was even a CHANCE of the book being an ex-library book. I shipped that back the next day. Hoping I get refunded soon as they received the book Friday.  Then my second book claimed to be LIKE NEW! ONLY READ ONCE! Well, if you saw my twitter posts from Friday, you can see my outrage that the spine was cracked to $#*t and the cover with "little" wear to it had a HUGE crease along the edge. Clearly who ever read this book "once" hated books and had zero reason for buying books in the first place! I haven't decided if I wanted to mess with that return. My problem is that the books I wanted are out of print. No bookseller is selling them at cover cost. Some are charging $25 for an $8 book. So that's clearly not happening! So I started doing my careful used book browsing and thought I chose carefully on both counts, but apparently the sellers are just straight up freaking liars who hate books!

 

The book I got this week and didn't return was:

 

Hard to Handle by Christine Warren--it's my guess that this series only had 1 print run or something as this one is only 3 years old, it shouldn't be this hard to find!

 

 

Happier news is the new Christmas t-shirt I bought myself arrived this week:

It's an unofficial Harry Potter shirt with Hedwig sitting on some books "ugly Christmas sweater" style!

 

 

And then in my Disney geekery I bought the Fantasia 80th Anniversary key! It arrived before the order I placed the day before it! So yeah. I don't think I remember getting notice that it shipped either! Or I forgot what email I used for it! Lol! Still, that was a happy surprise to see when I came home yesterday!

And that was it for me this week! Other than the book fiasco it wasn't too terrible, but man, the book thing really brought me down!

Book Blogger Hop

This meme is hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addict!

 

This week's question is: Have you ever started reading a book and suddenly realized you've already read it? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

 

MY ANSWER: No. Honestly it's because of how I organize my books, all "read" books get shelved, unread books are everywhere else! And since I rarely ever have time to re-read a book I don't have that kind of deja vu! Lol.

 

 

 

 

Random Thursday

 

It's time to learn more of the strange and usual facts that will totally blow your mind with how true they are! Lol. Let's continue our study on animals in True Facts That Sound Like Bull$#*t by Shane Carley!

 

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

Crocodiles are more closely related to birds than lizards. And since Jurassic Park (and the scientists before them) told us that birds were descended from dinosaurs, this is not surprising!

But still...this guy is more related to Tweety Bird than Pascal?!

 

(image borrowed from Giphy)

Sharks are older than trees. Trees date back about 350 million years ago whereas sharks date back 400 million years ago. 

I mean, weren't sharks around in the dino times? But you know, less evolved.

 

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

Did you know there is a type of octopus named Dumbo Octopus because of its ear-like appearance of fins?

Aww, he's cute too!

 

(image borrowed from RIF.org)

Scientists believe that there are ten times more bacteria cells in your body than human cells.

That's freaky. Especially right now!

 

 

(image borrowed from CIDRAP)

You can pretty much always tell the color of a chicken's egg, by the color of its ears.

I'm still trying to figure out where a chicken's ear is at! Lol!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARC Review--Grave War by Kalayna Price

Grave witch Alex Craft is getting pulled back into deadly fae politics in the thrilling new novel in the USA Today bestselling series.

Grave witch Alex Craft has forged an uneasy truce with the world of Faerie, but she’s still been trying to maintain at least some semblance of a normal life in the human world. So it’s safe to say that stepping up as the lead investigator for the Fae Investigation Bureau was not a career path she ever anticipated taking.

When an explosion at the Eternal Bloom threatens to upend the fae who make their home in our world, Alex finds herself in charge of the most far reaching investigation she’s ever tackled. And it’s only her first week on the job. With the threats mounting and cut off from half her allies, Alex can’t wait on the sidelines and hope the fae’s conflicts stay contained within their borders.

 

 

 

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review. 

Grave War brings an end to Kalayna Price's Alex Craft series and it was absolutely amazing! This series spanned 10 years for us readers and yet it was less than a year for Alex herself and oh wow, has a lot happened. I mean seriously. She's been through so much and since this is the final book, you know a HEA is just at her fingertips...if only she can survive this book first!

Since Falin is the winter king now, things have finally been somewhat tame, somewhat normal. She still has to be on her guard though since Falin has received many challenges to his position, her life could be at risk too in order to get to him. She has a new job thanks to his role too as the lead investigator for the Fae Investigation Bureau and just as she is trying to figure out what's what in this new job with a lot of weight to it, the Bloom, the fae club and the main Nekros' door to faerie is destroyed...then another door is destroyed, followed by another. Someone is destroying the doors to faerie and the mortal world, trapping fae on either side to remain wherever they were at. 

To add to Alex's troubles, she seems to have developed a very serious and scary stalker. She has an inkling of who it could be, but it would impossible for her instincts to be right...but that usually means they are. What it boils down to is needing to find a way to bring the doors back so that she can rescue the fae trapped on the mortal side who need the faery side in order to survive and since she has quite a few friends who are in need of faery's elements to live as well, she's more determined than ever to save the world for everyone.

This book was wow! Yes, it's been an age since I read the last Alex Craft book, but luckily, this is one of those series you can just dive back into with relative ease. Yes, there was the occasional "who are you?" followed by "what was THAT event?" but that can be pretty typical with me regardless, even when I take notes! Lol. But luckily needing the details I want to know about those events are never important to the story of the NOW. 

I was very happy that Alex and Falin could be a couple again. I mean, I think I was rooting for Death, Alex's longtime friend and companion, work buddy and once upon a time boyfriend...but Alex and Falin just seemed to click way back in the beginning. Death was a fun guy though and I was glad he popped back up again, but I feel like in these later books that all he ever did, pop in, hang out for a few pages and then disappear for the rest of the novel. While a fun and intriguing character, he's not around much. But the sparks between Alex and Falin continue to run strong in this one, which I was all for!

There was quite the mystery at hand too. Though it became obvious as to the whodunit but that doesn't mean there weren't any surprises along the way, because there were a ton of them! You could kind of see where things were headed towards the finale, but it's not really bad in a sense. You know things will work out in some fashion as well. If that hasn't confused you, yay! Lol. I was quite content with the way things ended and will reiterate that it ended in the way I love best of all in my series finales. You know that even though the story is over, the adventures are far from over.

The Alex Craft series is one not to be missed by fans of the Urban Fantasy genre! It's a great edgy series with lovable and relatable characters. There's magic, ghosts, witches, and fae...it's got everything one could want. Even if the vampires are missing...but thankfully, Kaylana has another series for that!

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

Grave War releases November 24, 2020

Waiting on Wednesday

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. 

 

Prepare for the jaw-dropping finale of Sabaa Tahir's beloved New York Times bestselling An Ember in the Ashes fantasy series, and discover: Who will survive the storm?

Picking up just a few months after A Reaper at the Gates left off...

The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.

At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family.

Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory--or to an unimaginable doom.

And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul Catcher seeks only to forget the life--and love--he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save--or destroy--all that he knows.

 

The question remains...how many boxes of tissues will I need while reading this?

 

TITLE: A Sky Beyond the Storm
AUTHOR: Sabaa Tahir
PUBLISHER: Razorbill
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: December 1, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

ARC Review--The Bright and Breaking Sea by Chloe Neill

 

Chloe Neill brings her trademark wit and wild sense of adventure to a stunning seafaring fantasy starring a dauntless heroine in a world of magic and treachery.

Kit Brightling, rescued as a foundling and raised in a home for talented girls, has worked hard to rise through the ranks of the Isles' Crown Command and become one of the few female captains in Queen Charlotte's fleet. Her ship is small, but she's fast--in part because of Kit's magical affinity to the sea. But the waters become perilous when the queen sends Kit on a special mission with a partner she never asked for.

Rian Grant, Viscount Queenscliffe, may be a veteran of the Continental war, but Kit doesn't know him or his motives--and she's dealt with one too many members of the Beau Monde. But Kit has her orders, and the queen has commanded they journey to a dangerous pirate quay and rescue a spy who's been gathering intelligence on the exiled emperor of Gallia.

Kit can lead her ship and clever crew on her own, but with the fate of queen and country at stake, Kit and Rian must learn to trust each other, or else the Isles will fall....

 

 

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

 

Chloe Neill treads new waters with her debut historical fiction, with just a hint of magic, novel The Bright and Breaking Sea. Widely known for her paranormal series Chicagoland Vampires and Heirs of Chicagoland, Chloe tackles the new genre with finesse!

Kit is captain of her own ship in the queen’s command and has a talent for taming the sea. Her next voyage however will be a rescue mission, to save a man loyal to the crown, yet she has to bring along Grant, who is a good friend to the kidnapped man, and a solider to boot. The two do not get along well, at all. So naturally, we know that they eventually will! Lol.

The rescue mission is of course, only one of the voyages Kit will have to undertake. There’s plenty more missions to come as there is a traitor out there who is doing whatever possible to take the crown away from the queen. Coupled with high action voyages on said sea this is a read that will keep you entertained.

That being said, I have to admit, this one just wasn’t for me. I love Chloe’s vampire worlds and the magic and people in it. This book sadly just didn’t have that same kind of thrill. Yes, it’s a new genre, new world, new world order…I get that. The description touts magic being involved though and I was greatly expecting there to be a lot of magic in this one. Yet, it almost seemed like it was added as an afterthought. Kit has an ability to help “tame the sea,” if you will. She doesn’t use it very often, nor do we talk about it very often. It’s almost like Fight Club.

I did like the dynamic between Kit and Grant though. There’s always something to those relationships that start with animosity but soon grows into something more. Though they are not very lovey-dovey like even when they start to admit there might be something there.

Another thing that just wasn’t in my favor was the pacing. This was a very slow paced read in my opinion. I guess maybe that’s the trend in historical fiction novels? There was a lot of emphasis on describing this and that of the ship and the sea, and the weather, and the sailing process…it was just a little too much for me. I like my novels to be driven by character or plot more than the setting.

I have to admit that I did start skimming some pages towards the end, mostly skipping over the overlong descriptions. I got the gist of the situation at hand and was only mildly surprised when a traitor popped up. Honestly, when I saw them (yup, using improper verbiage here) in the beginning, I had me a Scooby Doo moment and thought they did it! I don’t know what they did, but they are a suspicious character.

The ending was one of those nice kind of endings that you tend to get in a new series. That you think the waters are calm at last, but there’s yet another storm brewing just on the horizon and there will be lots more to come in the future. Sadly, I don’t think this will be a voyage I will be continuing. Though Chloe is still one of my favorite authors, this series just isn’t for me.

However, if you find yourself needing a good historical fiction read with just the tiniest taste of magic, then The Bright and Breaking Sea will be the read for you!

 

 

Overall Rating 2/5 stars

 

The Bright and Breaking Sea releases November 17, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Purple Princess of The Purple Booker. 

Here are the rules:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.

 

"And, I realize with a dawning horror that chills my very soul, I don't know the answer to the most important question of all.

I swing around to stare at my uncle. 'What happened to Hudson?'" p 24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TITLE: Crush
AUTHOR: Tracy Wolff
PUBLISHER: Entangled Teen
GENRE: YA Paranormal
RELEASE DATE: September 29, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

 

This week's topic is: Top Ten Characters I’d Name a Pet After 

 

*in no particular order

 

10. KATY--from one blogger to another!
9. EMBER--it's just too cool!
8. BELLE--the original bookworm!

7. DAEMON--although I could be dooming myself to having a little hell-raiser...or I guess that would be more Roth! LOL!
6. CHARLEY--I just love this name spelled this way for a girl!
5. TINK--not for Tinker Bell naturally!

4. GRIMALKIN--I guess that would have to be for a cat though...I'm not much of a cat person though.
3. CRESSWELL--apparently I have a type for the snarky guys as pet names! Lol.
2. JENKS--because come on, it's an awesome name!

1. LEGEND--this should surprise no one.