Finding Her

 Finding Her

Scarlett City Book 2

Anika wanted nothing more than to escape her past and dance. Juilliard was supposed to be a new beginning, a chance to follow her dreams. Life had other ideas.

Mason was awkward with people but a genius behind his screens and keys. His history was filled with darkness but the first time he saw her smile, that's all it took. But she had no idea he existed...

Follow the journey of Anika and Mason as they get to know each other, deal with secrets and lies, potential threats and questionable allies, shattered dreams and possible hopes.

This is the second book in the Scarlett City Series and is an MF contemporary romance. There is plenty of action, drama, and mystery, but there is also content that may be upsetting or triggering to some readers. This includes but is not limited to violence, physical and sexual assault, mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, mentions of suicide and self harm, death and loss. This can be read as a standalone but for the best reading experience the series should be read in order. Enjoy!

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Craving Them Teaser

"Will you relax?" Bryce asked, keeping his voice low. Kas opened his mouth, but Bryce gave him an almost pleading look that had me utterly fascinated. "Please?"

Kas closed his mouth and looked down at Bryce for a moment as if looking for something. Finally, he nodded and the tension in Bryce's shoulders dissipated. Without another word, he followed his friends downstairs and Kas glanced at me.

"What?"

"I just wish I had the ability to read minds," I sighed, flopping onto the bare mattress of my bed and staring at the ceiling for the last time. "If I knew what people were thinking, my life wouldn't be so difficult."

Kas sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at me, a smile tugging up the corners of his mouth. "I think you've got that backwards. But isn't guessing supposed to be the fun part when it comes to people?"

"You tell me, Kas," I said, closing my eyes. "I'm not good with people, not like you are. I don't know how… anything works."

I kept my eyes closed, unable to face him after bringing up his reminder from several minutes ago. Kas was five years older than me and was very well experienced in what I assumed was everything. I had heard his jokes and crude comments over the years which pointed to a lifetime's worth of… well, everything. How could someone as ignorant about the world as I was know what I wanted if I didn't even know what I could want?

Reading books and watching movies doesn't tell you how the real-world works. It's pipe dreams with pretty people and pretty endings. But I had seen the darkness that existed in this world, the real world. I didn't know if what I felt was real or just the hormones of a teenage girl in close proximity to hot guys. Maybe that's all it was, but I just wanted to be happy, whatever that meant.

"The best way to learn is through experience," Kas answered quietly. "You're young and have plenty of time to figure it all out. You don't need to be good with people, just the right ones. As beautiful and intelligent as you are, the world is at your mercy, Rainbow."

Tears stung my eyes as I finally looked up at him, silent tears slipping from my eyes. "I'm going to miss you, Kas. I'm not sure I'm ready for that goodbye."

Kas held out his hand to me and I took it, letting him pull me into a sitting position. Brown eyes searched mine, our faces inches apart as he tucked the strand behind my ear again.

"What if you didn't have to?" he asked, his breath fanning across my skin again. "What if you could see me any time you wanted or needed to?"

"What do you mean?" I whispered in confusion as more tears welled in my eyes. "I can't ask you to drop everything whenever I miss you, Kas. I wouldn't."

"But what if you didn't have to?" he pressed, doubt filling his eyes as I began to shake my head. I still didn't understand what he was asking of me. "Would you be okay with that?"

"How?"

"Because he lives across the hall from us," Bryce said before Kas could answer. Both of us turned to look at him in surprise. "He would be within reach whenever you wanted him there."

"Bryce…" Kas sighed dejectedly, rubbing his forehead.

"It's fine," Bryce cut in while I struggled to process what he had just said. "I just came up here to tell you that the boys are going to finish loading her stuff up. Andi, stay here with Kas and I'll be back in a little bit. We can leave after that if you want."

"Where are you going?" Kas frowned.

"My brother needs me for something," Bryce answered vaguely. Kas clenched his jaw but remained silent. "Don't worry, it won't take long."

As he walked away, I slowly stood from the bed, packing away the last of my books as I tried to wrap my head around it.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, keeping my back to him.

"Because I want to," he answered without hesitation.

"But why?" I repeated more forcefully. "Because Rory told you to? Because you don't trust Bryce? For some other reason? Why? Don't lie to me, Kas, because I've had plenty of those lately."

I heard the creak of the mattress as he stood and felt the subtle vibration with each step he took towards me. My heart was racing, and I could feel tears trying to find their way out again. When the heat of his body was so close that I could feel it through my clothes, I went still.

"Because I want to, Andi," Kas repeated again. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be. That's a promise."

I believed him even though I couldn't shake the feeling it wasn't the whole truth. But I accepted it, my desperately naive brain absorbing the promise like it would justify the darkest parts of me that wanted this to be real.

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Craving Them by SJ Meares

New local author, SJ Meares, has recently published her first book in the Scarlett City series. Now available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Follow her author page on Facebook.

Give away coming soon!

Review of Craving Them by SJ Meares

 

Craving Them: Scarlett City Series Book 1 by SJ Meares
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book in the Scarlette City series which is a contemporary mafia romance with some aspects that could be triggers for some.

I love the characters! Kas, Bryce, and Andi are perfect together. Each are unique with their own flaws and demons; they are far from perfect which makes them so relatable. The story is woven with enough sex and violence to add to the story without it being just about the sex and violence. Its woven together to draw you into their world and hold you captive until the end. I hated to see the story end, and I'm glad to know this is the first in the series. I look forward to the next one.

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Art

A couple of years ago I started doing paint by number. The paint by numbers that are available now are nothing like the ones I had when I was a kid. These are large, complicated pieces that are real pieces of art. But, after doing several I started wanting to explore other types of art. I started drawing and using colored pencils. The first piece below is one example.

Then I discovered the Art Sherpa. The first piece below I used techniques that I learned but expanded upon them. The other pieces I followed tutorials on her YouTube videos. I have really enjoyed painting and hope to sell some of my own soon. Let me know what you think!

Seven Wishes

This is the first book in the Caelum Academy trilogy. All three books are out, but I haven't continued on to those just yet.

Here is an excerpt from the blurb:

Caelum: an Academy built to protect people like Eve.
Who they can't protect her from?
Its own student body.


With the influx of so many reverse harem and academy series (and reverse harem academy series) it is difficult to discern the differences between many of them. This one has some unusual premises to it, much of which leaves me with soooo many questions. It is certainly different from what I have encountered in the past, and I'm still not sure about whether I like this take on the paranormal world. However, I am intrigued enough to continue the series.


Seven Wishes by Serena Akeroyd

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


3.5 starts, but I rounded up because I'm intrigued.

The premise of this read is interesting, but leaves me with sooooo many questions. Eve has been recruited for Caelum Academy and essentially rescued by the cult she was raised in. She learns that those like her (creatures) have 7 souls that are fighting for dominance and when she matures one will be the dominant soul. These are vampire, hell hound, sin eater, gargoyle, succubus, Lorelei, and were. This is where my confusion starts, and maybe I am just over thinking things. But how is a person that is born to "normal" parents born a creature? It is alluded that genetics play a role, but wouldn't someone in your immediate family hold those genetics? Maybe I'm just used to stories where weres are born to were families, vampires come from vampires, and fae or demonic entities or similar means create succubi, etc. And that is only the tip of the question iceberg. But I don't want to spoil things.

I like the characters. Eve is struggling to come to terms with what she is. And the guys in her life are flawed and real. I do want to see where this story is headed so I will be continuing the series. The world building is also unique. I haven't read anything that is set close to Nigeria. However I feel like Eve does: there is just so much I don't understand.




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“If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all—except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.”

– John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Rhapsodic

Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book deserves much more than 5 stars. I would give it 10 or 20.....50. It was that good and I don't say that lightly.

I hardly have words to talk about this story. Callie and the Bargainer have a past, and through this past we see their life and their relationship develop like no other. Callie is a siren that is in need of help and the Bargain is there to strike a bargain. From that point their lives are never the same. Their story is woven together in perfect ebb and flow. The reader is drawn into a story that you don't ever want to leave. I would wake up at night thinking about these characters. And I can hardly wait to continue this story.




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A Stir of Bones

A Stir of Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was absolutely heartbreaking and hopeful all at the same time.

Susan who lives in a home full of secrets finally makes friends and finds a house with its own secrets. While this story is about children it is not a children's story. And the story is so gripping it is hard to put down. I wasn't ready for the story to end and I would like to know what happens with Susan and her family but from what I understand the second book does not pick up here.


This is a story full of magic, friendship, sadness and hope. My heart ached when it ended.




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Venomous

Venomous by Penelope Fletcher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I absolutely loved this book! But I warn you that it is not for everyone. There is a lot of violence in different parts of the book. It is also a reverse-harem with alien partners and very long (650+ pages) but I hated to see it end.


Lumen is abducted by aliens and sold into slavery where she is deemed unworthy and given to the warrior that remains after a bloody fight to the death. With no way to communicate with the winner of the battle they have to find a way to communicate in order for her to survive. This is the beginning of her journey and it is a roller coaster ride from the very beginning. It certainly made me with that I could find my own four armed, reptilian alien hero.



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Reverse Harem

The Reverse Harem genre is a fairly new but very popular genre, and it has quickly become one of my favorites. For those of you that are unfamiliar with reverse harem it is a one girl-multi boy-universe. But it is far more than mere romance. Authors have combined the reverse harem genre with other genres and that equals AWESOME!!!

Author C.L. Stone was the first reverse harem author that I read, and she quickly got me hooked on the series. The Ghost Bird series is a young adult reverse harem/mystery and Sang Sorenson is drawn into the world of the Academy by 9 guys that become her world. There are a lot of unanswered questions surrounding Sang and Ashley Waters, the school she attends. The series isn't finished yet, and I, for one, am not ready for it to end.

Other series, like Curse of the Gods and Last Hope, are not young adult and contain sexual content (so be warned) but they are no less awesome for being adult. Curse of the Gods is fantasy and Last Hope is religious fantasy. Both are great series.

The few series that I have mentioned here are by no means the only examples of reverse harem. Like any genre, some reads are naturally better than others and everyone has their own tastes. If you have yet to experience the reverse harem you should reach out of your comfort zone and pick one up.

The Shadow of a King by C.M. Gray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was a 5 star + read. LOVE!LOVE!LOVE!

This is a wonderful telling of a time in the life of Uther Pendragon, High King of Britain and father of the famous King Arthur. History comes to life in this story, full of rich characters and settings. We are drawn into this story as Uther is telling about events in his past to Morgana. Full of the magic of druids, knights and battles, and the answers to questions that we have all wondered about.

I certainly hope this is not the last installment in the Shadowlands series. I want to know more about King Uther and Merlin and all the other wonderful characters that we have met. Both this read and the previous are awesome and highly recommended to lovers of fantasy.



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Consequences, Book #4 of the Chronicles of M

Consequences by Nicholas Forristal

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Loved it of course!

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This entire series has been such a fun read so far, and this installment is no exception. There is so much going on in this series. Its X-men with a dash of mortal combat and a good dose of comic book heroes. There is a lot of action, humor, mystery, and a lot of science fiction thrown in for good measure. I have always said this series would make a great graphic novel series.

Many of the previous characters, especially M, have returned but we are introduced to a few new ones as well. But to prevent spoilers I will leave it at that.

If you enjoyed the first three you should continue with this one. If you haven't read the first three you should definitely give it a shot if you love an action packed, sci-fi page turner.





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Deep Blue

Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I want to thank my daughter for introducing me to this series as it was my Xmas present. I haven't read many books in the mermaid genre and none that I have liked very well except for this series. This book was certainly much more than the cover reveals.

Serafina is the princess on the eve of the ceremony that marks her as worthy of one day bearing the crown. She is having dreams where the Iele are calling her for a quest. The Iele are freshwater witches that are supposedly a myth. Thus begins her quest and great adventure full of danger, friendship, history, mythology, and romance. Its also full of true life information concerning the state of the world's seas and its inhabitants caused by human pollutants and overfishing.

Its true that the story is full of puns and plays on words (keep in mind it IS a young adult book) but its also full of fun, adventure, and some very real truths. I loved the range of characters from all ethnicities, personalities, and some interesting traits and abilities. Overall a very fun read and I can't wait to read the next installment.



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Attention All Authors!!! A Request for Assistance

Attention All Authors!!

I am currently working toward establishing a Community Library in the town where I live and work. Our town does not have a county library branch and this makes it difficult for those who do not or can not drive to have access to library services. Due to budget cuts, our county library system is unable to help much toward the goal of providing these services.

My Request:

I am appealing to my author following for print copies of their books. If anyone wishes to donate their books to the Community Library it would be greatly appreciated and I would be happy to advertise this donation not only on my  blog and facebook page but also in our library and with the local media.

Thanks so much in advance!!!

Flora






Books may be sent to:
Arbyrd Community Library
PO Box 338
Arbyrd, MO 63821

The Lonely Wolf

The Lonely Wolf by Monica La Porta

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Awesome as expected!

I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved Monica LaPorta's writing since I first read The Priest. And this one is no exception.

The Lonely Wolf is the 6th installment of the Immortals series and is titled for the character Lupo Solis who's name means the Lonely Wolf. However, the story is not exclusively his. We finally get to hear the story of Quintillus who is the Alpha of the werewolf clan. Quintillus has been important in previous books but has never been a main character. Ludwig, likewise, has been in other books but their relationship has not been brought to light until now.

The story of these three characters has been intertwined along with political intrigue, blackmail, murder plots, racism, grief and heartbreak. There are unexpected revelations and outcomes that just add to it. I certainly wasn't ready for it to end.

Loved it as well as all the others. Would recommend this as well as the others in the series to anyone that enjoys paranormal romance.



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Raphael

Raphael by Monica La Porta

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Awesome as always!

I received this awesome read in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first installment in the young adult spin off from adult Immortals series. If you have read the adult series you will recognize the same world and we see a few of the same characters but it is centered on a young werewolf named Raphael. We meet him as he is on the run from the Controller and he stumbles across his destined mate. The story takes off from there and keeps you glued to it til the very end.

I love the world building. With each of the Immortals series we see a little more of the world that Monica La Porta has created. In Raphael we find the Den of Regects and the Promenade that runs underneath Rome. Its a whole world unbeknownst to us humans. The characters add a lot to this world building as we are introduced to a street gang of werewolves known as the Reds and find that there is more to each one of them than meets the eye.

There are also many issues that are touched upon that many youths can relate to such as abuse at the hands of authority figures, families not accepting your sexual orientation, as well as gang life and drug abuse. The way the characters deal with their situations really brings them to life.


Each story that comes out in this series and the adult series its connected to keep getting better and better and I've enjoyed them all. They are all stand alone as well as can be read in succession. If you haven't read any of them, wait no longer. If you enjoy paranormal romance you won't regret it.



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Specials

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I liked it much better than I expected to, maybe because I had low expectations. 3.5 stars, I stretched up to 4 stars because I was feeling generous.

Tally and her friends have been turned into Special Specials by Dr. Cable. She sees everything with a sharp clarity however her brain is being further manipulated by the system. Shay-la and her band of Cutters is constantly trying to hunt down the New Smoke and Tally-wa is faced with accepting the reality of her situation.

I admit, I skimmed a lot of this one. There was a lot of action scenes that didn't hold my attention. I got what was going on and then moved on. My biggest issue with this one was the glamorization of harmful practices in a book aimed at impressionable young women. Cutting, underage drinking and early sex was portrayed as not only the norm but as positive things and personally I see this as irresponsible as an author. On the other hand, many reviews I read found the ending a bit disappointing but I didn't. I liked the ending and thought that Tally was stronger for it. I shall say no more to prevent spoilage. I would have liked to have seen more of David, but this was written from Tally's point of view and circumstances being as they were I can see why this wasn't possible. Maybe in the future Westerfield will write the story from David's point of view. That could be interesting.

Overall, its not a bad series but far from perfect however. If you like YA dystopias this might grab your attention.



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Pretties

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is the second book in the Uglies trilogy (which somehow turns into 4 books instead of three o_0). In any case, I didn't like it as well as the first and ended up dropping my rating to three stars.

I had some issues with this one. I understand that by turning people into pretty-heads that you change their personality into shallow people. But how shallow can a person get? When do these people actually grow up? I know there are mentions of doctors and anthropologists and other types of workers but its never explained how these people go from partying all the time to being a doctor. The world building here is very lacking. There are mentions of other cities but that's all you ever get, just a mention. Nothing about where they are or how things are different or same there. What about school and education? It seems like a lot of destructive behavior is glamorized in this book.

But back to Tally-wa and the rest of her Crim crew. Other than Shay, who she comes to rescue, we are introduced to a whole new set of characters each as shallow as the rest except for Zane. Zane seems to have been the only one that has managed to keep his head throughout the book too bad it looks like he may lose it. Shay also seems to have some mental fight left in her, too bad past betrayal seems to have corrupted her.

Overall, I liked Pretties but not as well as Uglies. I hope that Specials is not as bad as some of the reviews that I've read. Even though it a YA read does not mean that world building isn't important. And this series could use a bit more of it.



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