Come Read with Me! PARRISH

Come read another book with me! I recently received a free e-book of Parrish from Future House Publishing through Tomoson. (You can take a look at their launch post right here)
Here's the cover!

Take a peek at the summary!

"Sadie Smith was absolutely certain of three things:
(1) ghosts were indisputably real;
(2) she and her three friends were some of the best (though not the most successful) ghost hunters in Oregon;
(3) her teammate Jefferson Parrish was always the scariest thing in the room. In a face-off between supernatural beings and Jefferson's Tim Burton-esque vibe there really was no contest.
But ghosts—unsurprisingly—can’t help pay the rent. So when Sadie and her friends are offered an undisclosed sum of money from an anonymous client to find a link between four historical haunted locations, it’s an easy sell.
During their cross-country investigation, Sadie finds herself forgetting about Jefferson’s macabre tendencies and falling for his sweetness, even if his idea of a love letter reads more like a note from a serial killer. And she can’t stop thinking about his annoyingly irresistible deep green eyes. As Sadie’s feelings get more tangled up with Jefferson, their group puts together the final pieces of a 100 year old mystery—one that will change Sadie’s life forever."

So far, I'm enjoying this book! This is essentially more of a romance novel against a spooky backdrop, so keep that in mind! Come read with me and support an author! You can purchase Parrish here for $2.99, and enter this Goodreads giveaway for a chance to win a free copy!

Come Read with Me! THE HUNGER

Let's talk about another book! I recently received a free e-book of The Hunger from Future House Publishing through Tomoson. (You can take a look at their launch post right here)
Look at this cover!

Take a peek at the summary!
"Feed your Hunger.
In a distant, war-torn land, every man, woman and child must either consume the magical substance known as Sustenance or succumb to the Hunger. Those who succumb develop deformities and face exile — or even death.
The scholar Azil wants nothing more than to lead a tranquil life and beat back the Hunger. But when a mysterious assassin tries to kill Azil, and a stranger shows up at his door challenging him to join her on a quest, he embarks on a dangerous journey to steal the sacred gems of Sustenance guarded in a forbidden fortress. To get there, Azil must venture through a land of floating cities, ravenous mage wraiths, ax-wielding warriors, and bloodthirsty bandits. But with the sacred gems of Sustenance come volatile magic — magic so strange and dangerous, that the prophecies foretell it could usher in a golden age, or turn its wielder into the darkest of villains."

So far, I'm really enjoying this book! The point of view does shift between two characters, so keep that in mind while you learn the world that Young has created.
Come read with me and support an author! You can purchase The Hunger here for 99¢, and enter this Goodreads giveaway for a chance to win a free copy!

Come Read with Me! THE STONE BEARERS

Let's talk about what I'm currently reading! I recently received a free e-book of The Stone Bearers from Future House Publishing through Tomoson. (You can take a look at their launch post right here)
Look at this cover!

The main character is a young woman of color!!! Personally that's a huge drawing point for me. Different kinds of representation is extremely important, especially in YA literature! But if that's not enough of a selling point for you, this fantasy story also includes but is not limited to: magicians, prophecies, and djinnis, I'm halfway through this novel, and so far, I have just really connected with the world that Stevens has built up! While this is a fantasy novel, the world it takes place in is still recognizable, and the characters are lovable/intriguing, despite some of their flaws.
Here's a summary of the novel from Goodreads:
"Fifteen-year-old Ashira just received the worst coming-of-age prophecy imaginable. After years dreaming of oceans, princes, and fairies, she expected to hear the words that would finally whisk her away from her ordinary desert village. Instead she hears, “you will live a life of no renown."
 Ready to choose her own fate, she discovers a djinni’s bottle and starts making wishes. When the djinni proves uncooperative and annoying, Ashira sets out to the great city of magicians to learn magic and free herself from an uneventful life as a potter's daughter. 
But there is another prophecy being whispered in the shadows. It is said that among the great magicians, there is a demon on the rise with the power to destroy the world. The djinni might be Ashira’s only chance to become someone important, or he just might be the very demon that triggered the dark prophecy. With the world on the brink of destruction, can Ashira fight her fate and stop the forces that threaten to upset the balance of the universe?" 
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Doesn't that sound awesome? (Spoiler Alert: IT IS!) So come read with me and support an author!  
You can enter to win a copy of The Stone Bearers here through Goodreads or purchase the ebook here on Amazon for $2.99!

TOMOSON TIMES: Killer Pursuit (An Allison McNeil Thriller) by Jeff Gunhus

Killer Pursuit is an excellent read! It is packed with action and I had no trouble following the story, despite not having read the first in the series. You can tell that Jeff Gunhus definitely did his research for this novel. It felt very realistic to me, but it was not dry as other novels I have read in this genre.
Killer Pursuit has the twists that we all crave in a thriller without going over the top. The point of view bounces between characters during each chapter, which is great because it allows us to help piece the mystery together. At the beginning, I felt a little disjointed by this only because I was not used to that style of narration. But for this genre, it really works!
Allison McNeil is a wonderful and strong female character. She's no pushover, and is incredibly intelligent. Allison is naturally the most well-developed character in this book, which I don't mind, because she is the heroine and the one we root for. The story itself is steadily paced with some nice surprising plot twists thrown in. I was very intrigued by the mystery, as well as impressed by the descriptive details and imagery of the crimes.

Overall, this was a great read and I recommend it if you enjoy thrillers!

*I received an advanced arc for free from the author in exchange for an honest review*

TOMOSON TIMES: The Torment of Rachel Ames Review

Through the site Tomoson, I was able to receive an advanced reader copy of The Torment of Rachel Ames for free from its author, Jeff Gunhus.
Here's the official summary from its Goodreads page:
"Suffering from writer’s block, novelist Rachel Ames escapes to a lake cabin to calm her mind and regain a sense of herself. The location is perfect. Isolated. Beautiful. Inspiring. It even comes with a good-looking landlord who shows an interest in her. But she can’t shake the sense that something terrible has followed her to the lake, something just beyond her consciousness, something out on the edge where the sounds of a raging fire and sirens linger whenever she slows down to listen. Determined to make the cabin work, she tries to settle in and give her new life a chance. But when strange things begin to happen around her, she wonders if she’s made a terrible mistake. As the darkness that’s followed her manifests itself in inexplicable ways, her concept of reality is stretched thin and she realizes nothing at the lake is what it seems. As she fights to survive with her sanity intact, she understands too late that the location she’s chosen for herself is far from perfect."

This novella definitely packs a bit of a punch by its end. The twist is something you don't really see coming. In fact, the end is what makes me want to go back and comb through the story for hints that I missed or disregarded. Halfway through reading this book, I was just so bewildered by all the strange events that were happening. Was Rachel Ames in a perpetual state of drunken delusion? Was she going crazy? Or were these insane things actually happening to her?! As Rachel's unease increased over the course of the story, I began to feel just as anxious. Gunhus definitely has a knack for the creepy, especially because there is real emotional depth layered along side the madness.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you're looking for something short and creepy. Best of all, if you're an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow this book for free!

July Favorites and a Teensy Flop!

Let's give this favorites thing a try once more, shall we?

So I did some serious damage at the Bath and Body Works semi-annual sale last month. The two standouts of the haul were hands-down the scents Tahitian Island Dream and Cucumber Melon. Tahitian Island dream definitely just smells like what the essence of summer should be! My only issue is that I do feel that this body spray fades quite a bit quickly, which is why I like to layer it with the Cucumber Melon lotion. This lotion, particularly after a nice shower, just makes me feel so clean and refreshed.

I had three NYX favorites in July. (FYI: August is going to be NYX month on our blog! Expect some swatches of NYX butter glosses, matte lip creams, and intense butter glosses!) Vanilla Cream Pie, Peaches and Cream and Istanbul are such perfect summery pinks. They just tie a look together so well...it's summer, it's hot...and I don't feel like messing with a lip color that's super high maintenance!

 Look at this nail color! How is that not stunning?! This little beauty is Jessie G's Gelato in Venice. It's that trendy mint green with a beautiful formula. Honestly one of my new favorite colors in my nail polish stash.

On the flipside, here's a polish that I have a hate/tolerate relationship with. I purchased this along with Gelato in Venice at Rite Aid. I was with Asa at the time, and we were busy squealing about how this polish (which is called Bikini) would be a perfect summer toe nail color. I thought it would warm up my skin tone just enough to make it look as though I had gotten some nice color. This was a really, really bad idea. For starters, this polish is NEON. Like, I swear my toes were glowing in the dark. I didn't even need a light to guide my way out of a dark room, that's how bright this polish was on me. The polish's formula is also pretty terrible! It dries down matte (as most neons tend to do), and was so streaky to apply. It took around three to four coats to get it to stop looking patchy. But the sad result was that it took a lot of effort to apply, but I really could not get on board with how the color looked on my skin tone. This polish is probably better left for accent nails and nail art.

I was going to do a separate post on this particular favorite, but I feel like it's a bit of a moot point considering my family and I devoured most of this box within one week! This is Universal Yum's Japan box, and boy, was this a hit! In case you didn't know, Universal Yums is a subscription service that focuses on bringing you snacks from a different country every month. I've received snacks from Germany, Israel, Italy and Brazil. I believe August's box will be focused on snacks from India. Anyway, this Japan box was amazing. and probably my favorite box I've received yet. I really hope that Universal Yums will eventually expand to selling individual snacks. (If they did, this sucker would be the first thing I would buy!!)

I have two television show favorites for July. (Okay, technically I binge-watched all of Sense8 when it premiered on Netflix in June, but it's a GREAT show.) Sense8 is about eight individuals from all over the world who find themselves mentally and emotionally connected. I cannot even begin to properly summarize this show. It is amazing, and you should definitely check it out! I started watching Humans  in late July, and I was immediately HOOKED. The show is based on the premise that android robots have become a mass market production, and that it is both trendy and useful to have one in the home as your maid, caretaker etc. The show is honestly very sociological. It forces us to question human rights and our own conception of morality. Do these robots (that completely look like humans) have any rights? Is it okay to utilize them as service workers (including prostitution), just because they do not have any form of sentience? (SPOILER ALERT: Some of them are sentient...and they are NOT happy!) 

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is my book favorite of the month. It is also a book that features a character that BETRAYED me. (I should have seen it coming...but, I didn't want to!!) I'm probably going to put up a review on my other blog if you're curious about the betrayal and how deeply invested in this book I was. If you enjoy fantasy and books where the elite prey and take advantage of the "inferior" and are just asking to get their "just desserts,"(AKA real life...) then this is definitely the book for you!  

This just about wraps up my first favorites post! It was a long time coming! I'll be back soon with another post!