Writing Update | 6/8

Hey everyone! I wasn’t expecting to be making any sort of writing update anytime soon, possibly not until July, but here I am. Shortly after my last update where I said I was going to take some time and just not push myself my muse returned and I’ve actually made some headway.

The story that I’ve jumped back into is one that I’ve been stuck on for a while – I had pretty much written myself into a corner because I was worried things were advancing too quickly and didn’t know how to slow it down without it seeming to move at a crawl or be too fall of minute things.

I knew a bunch of scenes I wanted to happen later but couldn’t figure out what to fill the space from A to B with. Well, that issue is at least partially corrected. I still have work to do, but at least it is somewhat flowing.

I know that I could just skip and come back to it, write the scenes I already have in my head – but I really try to not do that if I can. I like my first very rough pass to be pretty linear and don’t like to hop around too much. Of course that also means that when I get stuck on one story I have the habit of just jumping to another one.

So, progress report is that hey, there are new words and I’m enjoying the process again. I don’t know how long this will last, or if this will be what I work on for Camp Nano, but this is at least the current state of things.

How is everyone else’s writing going?

Happy writing!

Cover Reveal | So You Think You’re a Match by Michelle Hazen

So You Think You’re a Match?
Michelle Hazen
Publication date: August 24th 2021
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

A “wickedly funny” friends-to-lovers romantic comedy. Fans of Christina Lauren and Sally Thorne will swoon their way through this romp from the friend zone to forbidden love.

Harlow’s an ambitious career woman who always plays by the rules. Bishop’s a happy-go-lucky bad boy who will bend any law to save his sick sister. Why, then, did their dating app declare them a match? The man is fifty shades of wrong. Sure, he makes her laugh, but there’s more to relationships than laughter, right?

She should definitely stop texting him. Yup. Any day now.

Soon, they’re making fun of all their app matches to each other. One bad date rescue later, they’re roommates with accidental benefits.

Harlow’s having too much fun to slow down, and things only get better when she’s tapped for her dream job…as long as everyone in her life passes a background check. No problem. Except Bishop is hiding a huge secret about how he pays for his sister’s cancer treatments.

And it’s about to change everything.

“Complex characters strive with serious issues, and yet the story glimmers with charm, romance, and laugh-out-loud humour.” -India Holton, author of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

“You’ll have a smile on your face for the whole read.” -Kristin Wright, Amazon-bestselling author of The Darkest Flower

“The chemistry is amazing and Michelle Hazen is so wickedly funny you won’t be able to put this book down!” -Devri Walls, author of the Venators series

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo


Author Bio:

Award-winning author Michelle Hazen is a nomad with a writing problem.

Years ago, she and her husband ducked out of the 9 to 5 world and moved into their truck. She found her voice with the support of the online fanfiction community, and once she started typing, she never looked back.

As a result, she’s written most of her books in odd places, including a bus in Thailand, an off-the-grid cabin in the Sawtooth Mountains, a golf cart in a sandstorm, a rental car during a heat wave in the Mohave Desert and a beach in Honduras. Even when she’s climbing rocks, riding horses, or getting lost someplace wild and beautiful, there are stories spooling out inside her head, until she finally heeds their call and returns to her laptop and solar panels.

She’s currently addicted to The Walking Dead, hiking, and Tillamook cheese.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram


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Review | Where Hope Comes From by Nikita Gill

In Where Hope Comes From: poems for a broken world, Instagram superstar and poet Nikita Gill returns to her roots with her most personal collection yet. Sharing a number of poems that she wrote when the world went into lockdown, this collection will include the phenomenal Love in the Time of Coronavirus which was shared across social media over 20,000 times, as well as her poems of strength and hope How to Be Strong and Silver Linings. This collection will be fully illustrated by Nikita with beautiful line-drawings, and moves her into an exciting new space in the market as she tackles themes such as mental health and loneliness.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Nikita Gill is pretty much my favorite modern poet, so it was no surprise that I pre-ordered this as soon as I heard it was coming out. As someone who was also deemed high risk who has stayed home for the last 15 months to protect myself, this one hit especially close to home for me. This collection hit on so many things I thought, felt and went through in the last 15 months. It highlights not just depression, anxiety, loss of loved ones and more, but also the loneliness and isolation many people have felt. I loves the language she used and the range in poems, as well as the wonderful watercolor illustrations. This is a very hard hitting collection, so it talks of the subjects I mentioned are triggering for you I would proceed with caution, but it’s a wonderful read.

Happy reading!

Kindle Deals | 6/5

Hey everyone! I know Prime day is coming and there will likely be lots of deals, but I still wanted to share a few I found. Please double check the prices when you look at them as they may have changed or be different in your region.

A Curious Beginning ($2.99)London, 1887. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.

But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely ($3.99) – In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer.

Fall in love, break the curse.

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

The Serpent’s Secret ($4.99)MEET KIRANMALA:
INTERDIMENSIONAL DEMON SLAYER

(Only she doesn’t know it yet.)

On the morning of her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala is just a regular sixth grader living in Parsippany, New Jersey . . . until her parents mysteriously vanish and a drooling rakkhosh demon slams through her kitchen, determined to eat her alive. Turns out there might be some truth to her parents’ fantastical stories-like how Kiranmala is a real Indian princess and how she comes from a secret place not of this world.

To complicate matters, two crush-worthy princes ring her doorbell, insisting they’ve come to rescue her. Suddenly, Kiran is swept into another dimension full of magic, winged horses, moving maps, and annoying, talking birds. There she must solve riddles and battle demons all while avoiding the Serpent King of the underworld and the Rakkhoshi Queen in order to find her parents and basically save New Jersey, her entire world, and everything beyond it . . .

Happy reading!

Blog Tour | Just Pretend by Tori Sharp | Review + Playlist

Fans of Real Friends and Be Prepared will love this energetic, affecting graphic memoir, in which a young girl uses her active imagination to navigate middle school as well as the fallout from her parents’ divorce. Tori has never lived in just one world.

Since her parents’ divorce, she’s lived in both her mom’s house and her dad’s new apartment. And in both places, no matter how hard she tries, her family still treats her like a little kid. Then there’s school, where friendships old and new are starting to feel more and more out of her hands.

Thankfully, she has books-and writing. And now the stories she makes up in her head just might save her when everything else around her—friendships, school, family—is falling apart.

Author Tori Sharp takes us with her on a journey through the many commonplace but complex issues of fractured families, as well as the beautiful fantasy narrative that helps her cope, gorgeously illustrated and full of magic, fairies, witches and lost and found friendships.

Book Links | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | Indigo | IndieBound

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I was really enamored with this graphic memoir from the start because I was able to identify with the way Tori coped with what was happening in her life. While I didn’t have the same experiences as her when I was her age, writing and reading were my escapes when I dealt with my own issues, so it was something that really resonated with me. That 7-9th grade range is a difficult time for many kids, especially when you have so many different issues going on. I really enjoyed the mix of seeing Tori’s life and day to day mixed with her stories when she escaped into them. The story lines in some ways had parallels as Tori navigated her real life and attempted to survive and juggle everything going on. The art style was bright and vivid and perfectly suited both the real life and the fantasy.

Tori Sharp is a Seattle-based author-illustrator and swing and blues dancer with a BFA in sequential art from SCAD. You can find her online at http://www.noveltori.com and on Twitter @noveltori. Just Pretend is her debut graphic novel.

Author Links | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

I also had fun putting together a playlist on Spotify with some songs that I felt fit some of the feelings I had when reading this book. I’ve included it below!

Make sure you check out the other stops on the tour too! Happy reading!

Review | As the Last I May Know by S.L. Huang

An alternate history short story looking at decisions and consequences, and what it takes to pull the trigger.

This story was very impactful, even though it was short. The concept that an innocent child must be slaughtered at the president’s hands in order for them to get access to missile codes, essentially forcing the president to take the life of one of their own citizens before taking the lives of another nation’s citizens. It’s a moral dilemma that is enough to give someone pause and make them really think on their decision. In this story we follow Nyma, who is the one that has the codes inside of her and who the president has to kill should he want to use the missiles against those they are at war with. Seeing this experience through her eyes, all of her interactions with the president as the war is ongoing, seeing his struggle through his eyes and also her conflict, fear and anger over the situation. It’s a hard story to read especially in times that are so politicized and divisive, but the moral components of it made it a compelling read.

Happy reading!

Wrap Up | May 2021

Hey everyone! May flew by super fast! Just when I thought it would slow down a bit, I was wrong. I’m enjoying just a few bullet points for my wrap ups, so if you want to see all the books I read and my ratings on books that I read that I don’t necessarily cover on the blog – you are more than welcome to add me as a friend or follow me over on Goodreads. There are some books that I don’t always write up full reviews for, but I always rate them over there.

  • I completed three of my TBR card challenge books for May and made progress on a few others from previous months. Let’s hope this continues so I can work on the pile that is accumulating!
  • I read two Nancy Drew books in May and started on a third one.
  • I continued a few graphic novel series, though they were all graphic novels. I’m caught up on Isola, working on catching up on Monstress and finished the original seasons of BtVS that Dark Horse originally published, meaning it’s time to move onto the reboot.
  • In total I read 27 books, making it a great month indeed!

How did everyone else’s reading months go? June is set to be a very busy month for me since Rich and I are dealing with some medical stuff and our anniversary is at the end of June so we’ll see how much I’m able to get done.

Happy reading!

Cover Reveal | Heartbeat Girl by Michelle Gross

Heartbeat Girl: A vampire rock band romance
Michelle Gross
Publication date: December 5th 2021
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Desperate times call for daring measures.

At least that’s what I tell myself for packing up and hitting the road with America’s newest and most popular rock band, The Oppressors. The lanky tattooed men are suspicious. Before I stepped on the bus with them, they’ve always made me nervous.

Something’s not adding up, though. There are strange events I’m noticing around them.

  1. The hazy, vacant stare of the woman in their dressing room.
  2. And the blood on her shirt.
  3. The beat less sound of Liam’s heart when I lay my head on his chest.

I don’t think it’s safe to be close with the band, and most certainly not fall in love with one. So why do they make me feel like I’m a part of them? Their close-knitted trio.

What happens when I figure out what I’m dying to know?

This is a dual POV steamy vampire romance standalone that centers around bonds of love and friendship. 18+ dark, explicit sexual scenes, and lots of blood.

Paranormal romance-18+++

Add to Goodreads


Author Bio:

Michelle is from a small town in Eastern Kentucky where possums try to blend in with the cats on the porch and bears are likely to chase your pets—this is very true, it happened with her sister’s dog. Despite the extra needed protection for your pets, she loves the mountains she calls home. She has a man and twin girls who are the light of her life and the reason she’s slightly crazy.
As a kid, she was that cousin, that friend, that sister and daughter, the talker who could spin a tale and make-believe into any little thing so it was no surprise when she found love in reading, and figured all these characters inside her head needed an outlet. They wanted to be heard, so she wrote.
The voices keep growing faster than she gets the time to write.
The stories are never going to end. That’s perfectly okay, though. We never want to stop an adventure.
She writes and loves many different genres so sign up to her mailing list to keep updated on her releases!

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter / Amazon


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Blog Tour | The Rooftop Party by Ellen Meister | Review

A Host of Trouble…

In this witty and engaging novel, Dana Barry, the Shopping Channel’s star host, stops by the company’s rooftop party to pitch the new CEO her brilliant idea that just might save the flagging business, her job and possibly her love life.

As she chats with the smarmy executive, he backs her into a dark corner. For Dana, it’s a quid pro oh-hell-no. She escapes his lecherous grasp and grabs her drink on her way to the dance floor. Woozy, she blacks out.

When she comes to, the CEO is dead, fallen from the roof. Or was he pushed? And if so, by whom? It’s hard to know, but one thing is certain: Dana was close enough to be suspect.

Sure, she loathed how the creep moved in on her, but she’s no killer. Or is she? Truth is, Dana can’t remember much about those minutes. Now she has to use all her skills to prove her innocence to everyone, including her police detective boyfriend—and herself.

Meister’s latest is fun and breezy, a compelling, suspenseful read that entertains and keeps you guessing.

Buy Links | Harlequin  | Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble  | Books-A-Million | Walmart | Google | iBooks | Kobo

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I had never read any books by Ellen Meister before but as soon as I read the blurb and the murder mystery aspect of it – I was excited to get my hands on it. This was such a fun read and could easily be great for a summer beach read as it could be seen as both a mystery and rom-com in some ways. I felt that the interactions between Dana and Ari were handled really well and done in a very realistic manner, which made their relationship super easy to root for. I did realize part of the way in (and checked) that this is a sequel, but I don’t think having not read that book impacted my reading or experience at all – and I’m not sure if I would go back to read the previous book as I really enjoyed this one on its own. The plot moved along really fast and I loved Meister’s writing, it just made it one of those books that I had a hard time putting down since I was really enjoying it and wanted to know what was going to happen.

Ellen Meister is the author of  several novels including LOVE SOLD SEPARATELY,  DOROTHY PARKER DRANK HERE; FAREWELL, DOROTHY PARKER; THE OTHER LIFE and others. Ellen is also an editor, book coach, ghostwriter, and frequent contributor to Long Island Woman Magazine. She teaches creative writing at Long Island University Hutton House Lectures and previously at Hofstra University. Her latest novel is THE ROOFTOP PARTY. For more info visit ellenmeister.com.

Social Links | Author Website | Twitter: @EllenMeister  | Facebook: @EllenMeister | Instagram: @EllenMeister   | Goodreads

Happy reading!

Blog Tour | Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley | Review

Kara Sullivan is definitely not avoiding her deadline. After all, it’s the week of her best friend’s wedding and she’s the maid of honor, so she’s got lots of responsibilities. As a bestselling romance novelist with seven novels under her belt, she’s a pro and looming deadlines and writer’s block (which she definitely doesn’t have) don’t scare her. She’s just eager to support Cristina as she ties the knot with Jason.

But who should show up at Cristina and Jason’s rehearsal dinner but Kara’s college ex-boyfriend, (the gorgeous and infuriating) Ryan? Apparently, he’s one of Jason’s childhood friends, and he’s in the wedding party, too. Considering neither Kara nor Ryan were prepared to see each other again, it’s decidedly a meet-NOT-cute. There is nothing cute about this situation, and a bit of notice to mentally prepare would’ve been nice, Cristina! However, when Kara sits down to write again the next day, her writers’ block is suddenly gone. She has to wonder what’s changed. Are muses real…? And is Kara’s muse…Ryan?

Buy Links | BookShop.org | Harlequin  | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Books-A-Million | Powell’s

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I really enjoyed this fun rom com and the second chance romance that it featured. I wanted to read this book as soon as I read the blurb for it and it gave me exactly what I was looking for. It did start off a little slow, but then really got going and ended up being quite a page turner for me. The writing is witty and the banter between the main characters was one of the best parts of the book. There were certainly some situations that seemed a little unrealistic in some ways, but it’s meant to be a fun romance and it definitely meets that criteria. If you’re looking for a fun romance that is definitely a bookish book, then this one is one for you.

KATE BROMLEY lives in New York City with her husband, son, and her somewhat excessive collection of romance novels (It’s not hoarding if it’s books, right?). She was a preschool teacher for seven years and is now focusing full-time on combining her two great passions – writing swoon-worthy love stories and making people laugh. Talk Bookish to Me is her first novel.

Social Links | Author Website | Twitter: @kbromleywrites | Instagram: @katebromleywrites | Facebook: @katebromleywrites | Goodreads

Happy reading!