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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Black Arts , Tarts & Gypsy Carts ( Spells & Caramels book 2) in Books
Mar 14, 2022
47 of 230
Kindle
Black Arts, Tarts & Gypsy Carts ( Spells & Caramels book 2)
By Erin Johnson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A carnival bakery booth. A deadly magic show. Is it the perfect recipe for murder or a clever sleight of hand?
Palace pastry chef Imogen is struggling to control her newfound magic and her potent feelings for the prince. So when the carnival rolls into the kingdom, she jumps at the chance to run the royal bakery booth. But her plan to escape her problems backfires when murder rocks the magician's table, and her dear friend is found holding the bloody saw.
Determined to cook up a way to keep Rhonda out of witch's prison, she sifts through the clues and the long list of suspects. Between devious dark magicians, cagey stage assistants, and a strongman with more to offer than just muscles, everyone at the fairgrounds seems to be hiding secrets - even Rhonda.
With the final night of the carnival approaching, will Imogen's shaky powers be enough to flush out the murderer before her good friend ends up on the chopping block?
This series is so different and quirky. The characters just make you smile. Iggy has to be my favourite I mean a flame with personality and a sense of humour what’s not to love! It’s just such a pleasure to read.
Kindle
Black Arts, Tarts & Gypsy Carts ( Spells & Caramels book 2)
By Erin Johnson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A carnival bakery booth. A deadly magic show. Is it the perfect recipe for murder or a clever sleight of hand?
Palace pastry chef Imogen is struggling to control her newfound magic and her potent feelings for the prince. So when the carnival rolls into the kingdom, she jumps at the chance to run the royal bakery booth. But her plan to escape her problems backfires when murder rocks the magician's table, and her dear friend is found holding the bloody saw.
Determined to cook up a way to keep Rhonda out of witch's prison, she sifts through the clues and the long list of suspects. Between devious dark magicians, cagey stage assistants, and a strongman with more to offer than just muscles, everyone at the fairgrounds seems to be hiding secrets - even Rhonda.
With the final night of the carnival approaching, will Imogen's shaky powers be enough to flush out the murderer before her good friend ends up on the chopping block?
This series is so different and quirky. The characters just make you smile. Iggy has to be my favourite I mean a flame with personality and a sense of humour what’s not to love! It’s just such a pleasure to read.
The Night Blade (Indulgence #2) by Erin Kellison
10.0
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Luck isn’t going Terah Crane's way. She's stuck with the prince of Fury, the arrogant scion of...
Fantasy Series Myth and Legend
Humber Boy B: Shocking. Page-Turning. Intelligent. Psychological Thriller Series with Cate Austin
10.0
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FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER THE WOMAN BEFORE ME 'Superbly written...The plot...
The Easy Vegetarian Kitchen: 50 Classic Recipes with Seasonal Variations for Hundreds of Fast, Delicious Plant-Based Meals
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Fresh, delicious vegetables should be a staple of any diet, but if you've decided that you'd like to...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Mermaid Fins , Winds & Rolling Pins ( Spells & Caramels 3) in Books
Apr 26, 2023
49 of 235
Kindle
Mermaid Fins, Winds & Rolling Pins (Spells & caramels 3)
By Erin Johnson
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Scheming pirates. Reveling mermaids. When murder crashes the party, can one witch dredge up the killer?
Imogen's personal spellcraft lessons with Prince Hank have sparked a different type of magic between them. So when she's invited to bake for the mermaid queen's lavish wedding, she hopes the underwater ceremony will help cool off their growing attraction. But between the temptations of the sea-cave nightlife and the discovery of a murdered royal court member, her emotions are rising higher than the tide.
When one of her signature treats is found in the dead mermaid's gills, she'll have to stow her feelings and wade through the clues to clear her name. But surrounded by hard-partying revelers, a scandalous royal court, and a shipload of pirates, the twisted truth may be more elusive than sunken treasure.
With rough waters closing in, can Imogen catch the real killer before she has to walk the plank?
I enjoyed most of this book and really this should be a 2.5 stars but went for the 3 as 2 would have been to low. This is the weakest so for for me and all down to the way the mermaids and pirates were written it got on my nerves. Other than that it was a good read I just can’t get past that annoying queen mermaid and her dumb pirate!
Kindle
Mermaid Fins, Winds & Rolling Pins (Spells & caramels 3)
By Erin Johnson
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Scheming pirates. Reveling mermaids. When murder crashes the party, can one witch dredge up the killer?
Imogen's personal spellcraft lessons with Prince Hank have sparked a different type of magic between them. So when she's invited to bake for the mermaid queen's lavish wedding, she hopes the underwater ceremony will help cool off their growing attraction. But between the temptations of the sea-cave nightlife and the discovery of a murdered royal court member, her emotions are rising higher than the tide.
When one of her signature treats is found in the dead mermaid's gills, she'll have to stow her feelings and wade through the clues to clear her name. But surrounded by hard-partying revelers, a scandalous royal court, and a shipload of pirates, the twisted truth may be more elusive than sunken treasure.
With rough waters closing in, can Imogen catch the real killer before she has to walk the plank?
I enjoyed most of this book and really this should be a 2.5 stars but went for the 3 as 2 would have been to low. This is the weakest so for for me and all down to the way the mermaids and pirates were written it got on my nerves. Other than that it was a good read I just can’t get past that annoying queen mermaid and her dumb pirate!
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Night Circus in Books
Sep 14, 2022
165 of 230
Book
The Night Circus
By Erin Morgenstern
⭐️⭐️
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway - a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
This took way too long to read I got seriously bored. I know this is a super popular book but for me I just didn’t like it. I fell into the hype I don’t know why I keep doing it to myself!
Book
The Night Circus
By Erin Morgenstern
⭐️⭐️
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway - a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
This took way too long to read I got seriously bored. I know this is a super popular book but for me I just didn’t like it. I fell into the hype I don’t know why I keep doing it to myself!
Carma (21 KP) rated It Takes Two (Just Everyday Heroes: Night Shift, #2) in Books
Jun 17, 2019
It takes Two is the first book Ive read by Erin Nicholas. It was also the first I read in the Counting on Love series, and I hate when I read a series out of order. The good news is that these books can stand on their own with minimal carrying over and lots of explanation to previous happenings.
Isabelle Dixon thought she could have a wild and crazy night before she has to settle herself into a new lifestyle because of a medical issue. She thinks Shane Kelley is the perfect candidate for the job. 6 months later she cant believe she is still seeking him out and cant seem to let go.
Shane Kelley has fallen fast and hard for Isabelle Dixon. He has asked her to move in with him multiple times and wont take no for an answer. He thought their biggest obstacle was her brother Connor but it seems like they cant get past something bigger. He wont give up even when she seems to be keeping something really big from him.
Isabelle and Shane take a humorous road trip to find out if they can truly make it work between them. Each stop, on their way to a vacation house, has humor, angst, trials and truths. There may also be a little fun game included in their adventure, not known to all the parties involved.
I love the dynamic between the Dixon sisters, each with their own strengths and issues. Isabelle seems like a good mix of a party girl with a stay at home girl. She has to make some big choices with an unexpected health issue that hits her. She wants to hide herself away from the world but also loves being with Shane. Can she have it both ways and have them both happy?
Shane is the over the top, romantic boyfriend we all crave in life. Well maybe. He does go a little over the top sometimes but hey props for creativity. He loves Isabelle and wants to be with her all day every day. He knows she is hiding something from him but can he overcome the issues to make her happy for forever?
If you havent read anything by Erin Nicholas, what are you thinking? The Counting on Love series, which apparently is a semi continuation of the Bradfords series with brief appearances by some Bradford characters, is the perfect place to start. I havent read the Bradford series yet but Im anxious to now since completing the Counting on Love series.
Isabelle Dixon thought she could have a wild and crazy night before she has to settle herself into a new lifestyle because of a medical issue. She thinks Shane Kelley is the perfect candidate for the job. 6 months later she cant believe she is still seeking him out and cant seem to let go.
Shane Kelley has fallen fast and hard for Isabelle Dixon. He has asked her to move in with him multiple times and wont take no for an answer. He thought their biggest obstacle was her brother Connor but it seems like they cant get past something bigger. He wont give up even when she seems to be keeping something really big from him.
Isabelle and Shane take a humorous road trip to find out if they can truly make it work between them. Each stop, on their way to a vacation house, has humor, angst, trials and truths. There may also be a little fun game included in their adventure, not known to all the parties involved.
I love the dynamic between the Dixon sisters, each with their own strengths and issues. Isabelle seems like a good mix of a party girl with a stay at home girl. She has to make some big choices with an unexpected health issue that hits her. She wants to hide herself away from the world but also loves being with Shane. Can she have it both ways and have them both happy?
Shane is the over the top, romantic boyfriend we all crave in life. Well maybe. He does go a little over the top sometimes but hey props for creativity. He loves Isabelle and wants to be with her all day every day. He knows she is hiding something from him but can he overcome the issues to make her happy for forever?
If you havent read anything by Erin Nicholas, what are you thinking? The Counting on Love series, which apparently is a semi continuation of the Bradfords series with brief appearances by some Bradford characters, is the perfect place to start. I havent read the Bradford series yet but Im anxious to now since completing the Counting on Love series.
TI
The I in Team: Sports Fandom and the Reproduction of Identity
Book
There is one sound that will always be loudest in sports. It isn't the squeak of sneakers or the...
Awakened by Fire (Dragons of Bloodfire #2)
9.0
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Get lost in a world of danger, secrets, and desire in the newest installment of bestselling author...
Paranormal Romance Dragons Shifters
mostlyinpyjamas (13 KP) rated The Nowhere Girls in Books
Nov 25, 2017
Excellent book with an important theme.
The blurb;
Who are the Nowhere Girls? They’re every girl. But they start with just three:
Grace, the preacher’s daughter who unwittingly moved into the old house of a victim whose pain adorns the walls.
Bold Rosina, whose heart has become hardened by all of the straight girls who broke it.
And misunderstood Erin, the girl who finds more solace in science and order than she does in people.
They are brought together by the idea of changing the narrative of a girl they had never met, Lucy Moynihan, the victim of a sexual assault who was victimised further by people who found it easier to believe she had cried wolf than to confront what had really happened to her. A girl who, through the course of one evening, went from an excited teenager who felt wanted by a boy for the first time, to someone else entirely, with ‘a voice in the darkness, giving her a new name: Slut’.
Together, they form the Nowhere Girls, and decide to avenge the
rape of a girl none of them knew.
~
I’m going to jump straight in with wow! This book packs a powerful punch.
The Nowhere Girls tackles rape culture, sexual assault, misogyny and victim blaming, and does it well.
At times it’s uncomfortable reading, but it’s realistic, the empowering feminist message is never patronising, and it does not take an All men are bad stance.
I love the diversity of the 3 main characters. Rosina is Mexican, and gay, Grace’s mum is a church pastor, run out her former church because of her outspoken, liberal views, and Erin has Aspergers, which I felt – as someone with two children with Autism- was well observed! Erin was my favourite character.
The Nowhere Girls shows what can happen when girls get together and support each other, even when they have different views on things. It shows, and gives hope, that by speaking up, by standing together, by raising one another up, we can begin to bring about change.
Amy Reed writes, at the end of the book, how the story was partly inspired by events in her town, owners of a coffee shop were called out by the people in the town, on their misogynistic behaviour, which included a graphic list of sexual conquests – including local women, posted online. They eventually left town in disgrace.
The excerpts from the (fictional) blog in the book, The real men of Prescott were difficult to read, mostly because there really are people who think this way.
This is taken from the blog….
Girls want to be taken; it’s in their natures, so sometimes they put up a fight hoping you’ll get a little rough. The truth is, sometimes no doesn’t mean no. Of course, the feminazis will never admit this, but I’ll bet you a hundred bucks most of those chicks like it rough.
We really do need to talk about rape culture, every girl needs to know that they can say no, at any point, that even if they are too drunk to consent it’s not their fault, it’s still rape, that even if they didn’t have the strength to fight it’s not their fault, it’s still rape, boys need to know this too.
There needs to be a change within society, rape culture is real, it’s happening, and it needs to stop. Any book that can start a conversation about this is a good thing, in my opinion, and with its raw honesty The Nowhere Girls is an emotional, hard hitting, important book.
Buzzfeed says the Nowhere Girls is
‘Empowering, brutally honest, and realistically complex’
Who are the Nowhere Girls? They’re every girl. But they start with just three:
Grace, the preacher’s daughter who unwittingly moved into the old house of a victim whose pain adorns the walls.
Bold Rosina, whose heart has become hardened by all of the straight girls who broke it.
And misunderstood Erin, the girl who finds more solace in science and order than she does in people.
They are brought together by the idea of changing the narrative of a girl they had never met, Lucy Moynihan, the victim of a sexual assault who was victimised further by people who found it easier to believe she had cried wolf than to confront what had really happened to her. A girl who, through the course of one evening, went from an excited teenager who felt wanted by a boy for the first time, to someone else entirely, with ‘a voice in the darkness, giving her a new name: Slut’.
Together, they form the Nowhere Girls, and decide to avenge the
rape of a girl none of them knew.
~
I’m going to jump straight in with wow! This book packs a powerful punch.
The Nowhere Girls tackles rape culture, sexual assault, misogyny and victim blaming, and does it well.
At times it’s uncomfortable reading, but it’s realistic, the empowering feminist message is never patronising, and it does not take an All men are bad stance.
I love the diversity of the 3 main characters. Rosina is Mexican, and gay, Grace’s mum is a church pastor, run out her former church because of her outspoken, liberal views, and Erin has Aspergers, which I felt – as someone with two children with Autism- was well observed! Erin was my favourite character.
The Nowhere Girls shows what can happen when girls get together and support each other, even when they have different views on things. It shows, and gives hope, that by speaking up, by standing together, by raising one another up, we can begin to bring about change.
Amy Reed writes, at the end of the book, how the story was partly inspired by events in her town, owners of a coffee shop were called out by the people in the town, on their misogynistic behaviour, which included a graphic list of sexual conquests – including local women, posted online. They eventually left town in disgrace.
The excerpts from the (fictional) blog in the book, The real men of Prescott were difficult to read, mostly because there really are people who think this way.
This is taken from the blog….
Girls want to be taken; it’s in their natures, so sometimes they put up a fight hoping you’ll get a little rough. The truth is, sometimes no doesn’t mean no. Of course, the feminazis will never admit this, but I’ll bet you a hundred bucks most of those chicks like it rough.
We really do need to talk about rape culture, every girl needs to know that they can say no, at any point, that even if they are too drunk to consent it’s not their fault, it’s still rape, that even if they didn’t have the strength to fight it’s not their fault, it’s still rape, boys need to know this too.
There needs to be a change within society, rape culture is real, it’s happening, and it needs to stop. Any book that can start a conversation about this is a good thing, in my opinion, and with its raw honesty The Nowhere Girls is an emotional, hard hitting, important book.
Buzzfeed says the Nowhere Girls is
‘Empowering, brutally honest, and realistically complex’