Month: May 2017

I identified with this picture…How about you?

Laurell K Hamilton Stuff

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What’s the deal with Amy Lane?

As most of you know by now, I’m kind of a big fan of Amy Lane, in general, and as an author. I stumbled upon Vulnerable back when it was first published, and I have been watching, waiting and cheering each time a book came out and we got to join Cory on her journey through an alternate world where all the rules are good ones…

The new Amy Lane website http://www.greenshill.com/

https://t.co/DO9FBBMSxL  Forgiveness and unconditional love are the most human of enchantments @AmyMacLane #GreensHill

ANNOUNCEMENT: Quickening Volume 1, by Amy Lane

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Artemis

ilithiyas:

Mythology Posters .: Artemis, 

the daughter of Zeus and Leto,  twin sister to Apollo, goddess of  the moon, the hunt, the wilderness, the wild animals, childbirth, virginity and protector of young girls.

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Persephone

ilithiyas:

Mythology Posters .: Persephone, also called Koré or Cora, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, Hades’s wife and the Queen of the Underworld, also associated with spring and vegetation.

 

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Athena

ilithiyas:

Mythology Posters: Athena, also known as Pallas, is one of the Twelve Olympians and the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Philosophy, Craft and War, though she only took part in conflicts to defend the state and home from outside enemies. She’s a daughter of Zeus and Metis, born fully armoured from her father’s head, and the patron of a Athens- something she achieved by winning a contest against Poseidon by offering the city’s inhabitants the Olive Tree.

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Athena

lxcuna:

 

Greek Mythology Meme | Six Olympians [ 3 / 6 ]: Athena

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CtD ch26

windsurfingthroughhell:

Uhhhh i’m not sure I can talk about this in a coherent fashion but wth I’ll give it a shot. Everything, EVERY SINGLE THING from the second Cassie and Pritkin end up in that security booth is pure pain. Like when he made the decision to switch back, did he know his body wouldn’t have the energy to heal the wound? Probably. He just looks at the injury for a second and decides in that split second to die for Cassie. I mean, damn, Pritkin’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but his commitment to Cassie is INSANE. And then, then, he’s dying and he’s still trying to keep her safe?? He knows that if he admits that he can’t heal she won’t leave him, and he can’t look at her and I think it’s partly guilt, because she’s so upset, he didn’t think she’d be so upset, and partly that it hurts way more than he was expecting? Like not the physical pain, but the separation from her, he’s faced with saying goodbye to her and I don’t think he can do it. And don’t even get me started on Cassie’s reaction, the panic, the pleading, the disbelief: “I stared at him, unable to believe this was happening. That he could just disappear, along with everything rich and strange he’d brought into my life. Vanished, like magic.” Listen, I’m not crying, you’re crying. I’m not saying Cassie was in love with Pritkin at that point, because I don’t think she 100% was. But he’s already more than just a friend to her.

The pain continues. I’m honestly surprised Pritkin doesn’t get slapped more often, he’s dying and he tries to use it as a freaking ‘teachable moment,’ like what is wrong with you??? Okay, I know what’s wrong with him, he’s horrendously bad at comforting people because he’s spent the last hundred years actively repressing his own feelings and has such low self-worth that I don’t think he actually realises how badly his death would affect her. “One person is not so important in the scheme of things.” GOOD FUCKING BYE TO MY HEART. And then he’s so gentle with her? He cups her face and wipes away her tears and runs his fingers through her hair??? I love how he seems to like rediscover this forgotten capacity for tenderness with her, I love how when she kisses him to get him to feed, he just kisses her back, he kisses her goodbye, you can’t tell me that he didn’t feel something like love for the first time in decades at that moment. That he didn’t have a bittersweet revelation that he repressed as hard as he could after but never quite managed it. And Cassie’s “I can’t lose you,” that’s a ‘more than friends’ line if ever there was one. UGH what did I do to deserve being battered with these FEELINGS.

The actual sexy stuff is somehow WORSE bcs you’ve got all this reigned-in need and passion on Pritkin’s side and Cassie’s trying so hard to get him to let loose. Her reaction when he says please?? There’s a little streak of dom in our girl. And don’t even get me started on Pritkin calling her ‘Miss Palmer’ during sex (WHY IS THAT SO HOT?? – that’s pretty much my motto for this whole book) and just, the slow, deliberate way he teases her – ugggggh PLEASE. Anyway, this chapter ruined my life, I’m emigrating to the sun.

OK, So I have been a little silent for a while but figured I’d do my somewhat usual call and response to a post.  I’m planning to do another reread soon, and I am sure I will have way more to say, but as we know these post and responses keep me a little on track…

There’s a great deal of angst and so much has changed between Cassie and Pritkin, but I view this a little differently.  I think that both Cassie and Pritkin slip under each others defenses.  Cassie is growing up and collecting friends, lovers and family left and right.  Pritkin is trying to protect an unprotectable Pythia from everyone and anyone.  Between body swaps and time jumps, its all too damn much.  Pritkin is being Pritkin and for him its better to die in service to Cassie than to take a chance with emotions and feelings.  Far easier to die than to live.

As for how he restrains himself and that Cassie isn’t letting him go without a fight, well they are both playing to their strengths.  Would Cassie’s life be easier if one war mage was interchangeable with another-sure.  But Cassie has never taken the easy road.  Of course the craziness has gone to another level, but really even the body swap was going above the previous level of craziness!

 

All right so there’s my opinion, take it leave it argue about it -thats the point of the reread right!

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Shiloh Walker’s Pieces of Me

Book Review of Shiloh Walker’s Pieces of Me

I am a huge fan of Shiloh Walker.  I have been for a very long time, so when I
heard about Pieces of Me I got excited.
I love all of Shiloh’s series and had read a good number of her other
works.  The great thing about Shiloh’s
work is that even within the same genre each story is unique.  Shiloh is able to really encapsulate the
feelings of her characters and this book did not disappoint.   If you like romantic suspense novels, this is
definitely a great read.  This book has
graphic sex and violence against women.
While the heroine does a great job being a survivor, it could be
upsetting to those who have experienced abuse.

You have the main
heroine, Shadow Grace-A woman who has been broken so completely she doesn’t
know how to survive.  She struggles to
make a life for herself while recovering from a traumatic experience that makes
Russian prison camps look nice.  Yet, as
broken as she may be, she clings to her art and has the talent to bring beauty
into an unforgiving world.  Shadow isn’t fully
healed but every day she is getting stronger and she dares to reach by starting
to fantasize about a guy she sees on the beach regularly.  Shadow barely dares to dream about a man, but
for some reason, this one-well he sticks in her brain.  And he doesn’t come out easy, even when
fantasy starts to merge with reality and they meet.

The hero of our story seems perfect in so many ways.  Strong, supportive and a little bit dark with
a body that doesn’t quit, Jenks seems like the perfect man.  As they start to build something together, he
doesn’t fall apart when Shadow starts the revelation process, in fact he seems
to stick a little harder.  But he has a
secret and once it is revealed-well things are not quite as simple as they
first seem.

Of course, the past comes back to haunt Shadow and not only
Jenks but some of the other friends she has made find themselves in
danger.  While Shadow know just how sick
and depraved people can be, others doubt that it could have really been that
bad.  When the past swallows all of them
whole, only a few will have the chance to survive.  And after that—life will never be the same.

Shadow manages to rebuild herself and truly become strong,
facing not only her past but her present and deciding that she deserves more
than what Jenks can give.  But when her
past still threatens her, she finds that safety can be found in a strong
partner and Shadow has to decide whether to stand on her own or chance being
hurt again.

Pieces of Me
Shiloh Walker
July 25, 2017

Obsession can be deadly... Nobody knows that better than Shadow Harper. It seemed like a dream come true when a rich, suave older man noticed her during her second year of college. Stefan Stockman seemed to love her obsessively. He came into her life and swept her off her feet, seduced her, married her...and then slowly, eventually, that dream come true became a living nightmare. Now, three years after she finally escaped him, she's trying to put her life back together. Haunted by memories, struggling with post-traumatic stress, she spends most of her time locked away in her home on Pawley's Island, a small town on the South Carolina coast. Her rare moments of joy come from her trips to the nearby beach. She compulsively checks the locks on her doors, makes sure she has her cell phones--five of them--and if she misses something on her schedule, it throws her into a panic. When she accidentally leaves a sketchbook on the beach, an anxiety attack seems imminent. Her art has become her salvation, her sanity, and losing even one sketch is like losing a piece of her soul. When she returns to hunt for the sketchbook, already fearing it's gone for good, she's surprised to find it still sitting there, saved by a sexy fellow beach lover--the mysterious Dillian Jenkins. He's brash, bold, brutally handsome...and gentle. He's the exact opposite of the man who'd tormented her for years, and Shadow finds herself slowly, almost reluctantly, falling for him. Even obsessing over him. When her ex-husband once again intrudes on the happiness she's finally discovering, Shadow turns to Dillian. But will she find shelter there...or another betrayal?

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Snared by Jennifer Estep

Book Review of Jennifer Estep’s Snared

When I first started the book, I was confused.  It started out very similarly to some of the
other books and was so close that I actually checked that I had the right e-book.  But, it quickly moves on to original content
and boy, is it a revelation-almost as big as when Eira was shown to be a member
of the Circle.  For those of you who have
not gotten that far in the series, please stop reading here!  Snared is a great addition to the Elemental
Assassin series.  It has all the great
writing that I have come to expect from Jennifer Estep and moves the story
along.  I love this series, and I love
that Estep’s writing always exceeds my expectations.  There is never any editorial missteps or any
plot sinkholes.  In fact, I expect so
much from Estep’s writing that I keep expecting to be disappointed-but I never
am.  This deserves accolades and awards
as there are few authors who can live up to my insane expectations.

Snared has the usual intricate plot that seamlessly integrates
the stand-alone story with the overall story arc.  We discover that Eira’s relationship to the
circle was closer then previously thought.
We have a deepening understanding of Hugh Tucker and we get to see Gin
in her element, helping friends and kicking butt!  In the process, Gin cements more alliances
and as her circle of friends, allies and family continues to grow so does she.  My personal opinion is that Gin’s world is
growing grayer.  Not all villains are 100%
bad and Gin herself recognizes that she is the villain of some criminal’s
tales.

It is a great read and a wonderful addition to the
series.  A true five stars for this great
book!

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