Wednesday, January 28, 2015

What are you Reading? ~ Jan. 28, 2015


"What are you Reading?" is a weekly meme hosted by me! If you'd like to join me, answer the following questions:


  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you'll be reading next?



What am I currently reading?
I'm currently reading 
The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen. I'm loving this! Love the gothic feel of it! The moans and groans, and bumps in the night! There's a mystery in the old manor! 







What did I recently finish reading? I finished reading The Vagabond Vicar by Charlotte Brentwood. This was a sweet and humorous story! I'll have my review up on Monday! 






What do I think I'll be reading next? I think I'll be reading The Twelve-Step Plan by Erin Brady. I'm also itching to read something from my TBR pile. I really want to get started on one of my challenges, and show some progress on one of my progress bars! :)






FTC Disclaimer: Links to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provide, I will receive a small commission. Thanks! 

What are you reading? I'd love to hear!

Monday, January 26, 2015

Triumph and Treasure by Collette Cameron ~ My Review

Triumph and Treasure by Collette Cameron 

Series: Highland Heather Romancing a Scot Series, #1 
Publication Date: December 3rd, 2014 
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing 
Pages: 279 
Received: E-copy from the author. 
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars






 
I loved Triumph and Treasure! As always, Collette Cameron delivers a fast-paced, action-packed, Regency romance novel with many twists and turns! 

Only hours after getting married, Angelina learns the man she married is not whom he says he is, not only that, but he’s already married! Angry, embarrassed and utterly ruined, Lina cannot go home! Boarding a ship, she leaves Massachusetts and sails to England for a lengthy visit with her Aunt Camille and Uncle Ambrose, the Duke of Waterford. Vowing never to trust a man again!

But while in England, Lina finds her uncle has other plans for her. The Duke is not happy with Lina’s situation, and, through devious ways, finds a new husband for her. 

Flynn, the Earl of Luxmoore, is being blackmailed by the Duke of Waterford to marry his niece. Before his death, Flynn’s father gambled and lost the family fortune to the Duke. Now Flynn is responsible for his father’s debt. The Duke offers Flynn two choices, marry Lina and the debt would be forgiven or have no way to support his ailing mother, invalid sister, and elderly grandmother. Flynn is desperately trying to find another way out of this mess...until he meets Lina. There is something about her that tugs at his heart, and he quickly feels the need to protect her too.  

I love Ms. Cameron’s characters! The chemistry and sexual tension between Flynn and Lina are wonderful! I love how caring and loyal Flynn is, not only with Lina, but with his mom, sister, and grandmother.  

I also love how Ms. Cameron has threaded characters from her previous stories into this one. For example, Flynn is related to the Craiglocky Clan, from the Castle Brides series. 

After being fooled by a man whom she thought she loved, Lina begins making a mental list of rules to avoid falling into a trap like that again.  I got a kick out of all of her rules. Some of them had me chuckling!  

I really enjoyed Triumph and Treasure! The first in the Highland Heather Romancing a Scot Series, and I look forward to reading the next!


FTC Disclaimer: I received an ARC e-copy of the story from the author for my honest review.

Buy: Amazon
Add to Goodreads


FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provide, I will receive a small commission. Thanks! 

Connect with Collette Cameron



Any thoughts? I'd love to hear from you!

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Winners of the Pride, Prejudice & Secrets giveaway!

Hey Everyone! Rafflecopter picked a couple of winners for the Pride, Prejudice & Secrets giveaway!



I want to thank C.P. Odom, Meryton Press and Leatherbounds Reviews for having this giveaway here with me at So little time...!

THANK YOU!



Congratulations to:


Vesper Meikle ~ paperback winner!


Chiara L.~ e-copy winner!





Thanks to all who entered! 

I have emailed the winners.

Winners have 72 hours to respond to this post or an email, or a new winner will be picked. Thank you!

Add to Goodreads

FTC Disclaimer: Links to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provide, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

What are you Reading? ~ Jan. 21, 2015


What are you Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by me! If you'd like to join me, answer the following questions:


  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you'll be reading next?

Due to illness and the Bloggiesta I didn't get any reading done this week. So, my answers are pretty much going to be the same. Except the last, that will be different. :)



What am I currently reading?  I am still reading The Vagabond Vicar by Charlotte Brentwood. So far it's very good!









What did I recently finish reading? I finished reading Take Me On (Pushing the Limits) by Katie McGarry. I loved it! This is the fourth in the series.







What do I think I'll be reading next? Next I should read The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen. This one looks really good! I am looking forward to reading it. I was hoping to break up the two Regency's with something different, but as I have a deadline to review this book, I thought I'd better get to it!  



FTC Disclaimer:
Links to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provide, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!

What are you reading? I'd love to hear!

Monday, January 19, 2015

2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge


This year I wanted to continue to whittle down my TBR pile, the challenge I joined last year closed their sign-ups already, so I made my own! ;) If you would like to join me feel free!

I'm also doing the Austenesque Lover TBR Reading Challenge and the Dystopia Reading Challenge. I want to keep all these challenges separate. So, if I read an Austenesque novel, I will only count it in the Austenesque challenge, not both my TBR pile and Austenesque Lovers Challenge. 

Only books published in 2014 or earlier will be accepted in this challenge. No new books will count.

My goal for this year is to read 12 books. That's one book a month. That's one more than last year. 

I will post a list of completed books read on my 2015 Reading Challenge page.

Wish me luck! ;)

Are you doing any challenges this year?

Dystopia Reading Challenge 2015




Okay, I'm going to do this challenge again because I loved it! And I still have so many left Dystopia/Post-Apocalyptic books on my shelf to read!  

The Dystopia Reading Challenge 2015 is hosted by Cornerfolds. Head over there if you would like to join the fun! 

**This challenge recently changed hands. It is no longer at Blog of Erised, and Cornerfolds is the new host!  


The level I'm going for is Rebel - level 2 (7 to 12 books) again this year. 

I've finished the following books:

Legend by Marie Lu 
Prodigy (Legend, #2) by Marie Lu  
Champion (Legend, #3) by Marie Lu
Alive by Scott Sigler ~ my review 
Slated by Teri Terry 
The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau 


I'm going to start with this list and try to update it as I read them. I will also add books to my completed list on my 2015 Reading Challenge page.

Happy Reading!!

Austenesque Lover TBR Pile Reading Challenge 2015




The Austenesque Lover TBR Pile Reading Challenge 2015! I'm looking forward to this! I have so many Austenesque books that I need to get to, and I'm hoping this challenge will help remind me that I need to read them! 

I'm going to go for Level Three Anne Elliot: 10-20 books.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read first, but I here are a few books that I want to get to:

The Houseguest by Elizabeth Adams  ~ Read
A Matter of Chance by L.L. Diamond - Read
Stronger Even Than Pride by Gail McEwen ~ Read ~ My Review
Steampunk Darcy by Monica Fairview - Read ~ my review
One Love - Two Hearts - Three Stories by J. Dawn King

I will update my progress here and on my 2015 Reading Challenge page. 

Here's to a great year of reading ahead! Cheers!

How well did I do in my 2014 Read Challenges?

Hey Everyone! Here's a quick wrap-up on my 2014 Reading Challenges:

I exceeded my goal of reading 60 books on my Goodreads Reading Challenge by reading 64! Woot!



I signed up for the "A Friendly Hug" level (11 to 20 books) for the 2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, hosted by Bookish, and I made it! Barely. I read 11 books! You can see the list of books I read for this in my 2014 Reading Challenges page. I did not review any of these books. I just enjoyed them. :)



And last, but not least, the 2014 Dystopia Reading Challenge, hosted by Blog of Erised. I completed this one too! I read 20 books!! Woot! Again, you can find a list of books read on my 2014 Reading Challenges page

I'm pretty happy about reaching my goals! **throws confetti** I still have many books on my TBR pile, so I am going to be doing the TBR Pile Reading Challenge again, but I've missed the sign-ups for that. Well, that won't stop me! I will make my own. In fact, I'm doing all of these again, and I'm adding one more for 2015, Austenesque Lovers TBR Pile Reading Challenge 2015

Did you do any challenges in 2014? How did you do?

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Mini-Bloggiesta! ~ Jan 17-19, 2015

Yay! **throws confetti** It's Bloggiesta time again! Time to work on the blog with my fellow bloggers! 

What I like best about Bloggiesta is that I set aside time to do maintenance on my blog, get caught up on reviews, chat with other bloggers, and learn new things! The mini-challenges are always informative and fun!

If you would like to join us, please do! Sign-ups are here. You can also find a fantastic list of past mini-challenges here. If you don't find what you're looking for there, just ask - #bloggiesta on twitter!



Here what I hope to get done:
  • Write a 2014 Reading Challenges Wrap-up post. ~ Completed!
  • Start 2015 Reading Challenges page and write a post. ~ Completed!
  • Write two book reviews.~ I completed 1 review.
  • Clean up my sidebar. ~ Completed!
  • Do at least one of the new mini-challenges. ~ Complete! check out the Piktochart I made by doing A Touch of Book Madness's mini-challenge! Thank you! 
  • Check out other participants Bloggiesta posts. ~ I did comment on a few posts. :)

As I work through my list I will update on this page.

If I get all this done, it will feel great! =)





Are you participating in the Bloggiesta? If so, leave a comment, and I'll try to stop by to see what you're doing!   

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

What are you Reading? ~ Jan. 14, 2015


What are you Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by me! If you'd like to join me, answer the following questions: 


  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you'll read next?


What am I currently reading? I just starting The Vagabond Vicar by Charlotte Brentwood. This Regency romance is Ms. Brentwood's debut novel, and I'm looking forward to reading it. 







What did I recently finish reading? I finished reading Take Me On (Pushing the Limits) by Katie McGarry. As always, Katie delivered another fantastic story! If you're an MMA fighting fan, you will love this one! 






What do I think I'll read next? I think I'll read The Twelve-Step Plan by Erin Brady. It looks like a fun and cute story! I've enjoyed all of Ms. Brady's books, and I'm sure this isn't going to disappoint! 



FTC Disclaimer: Links to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provide, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!

What are you reading? I'd love to hear!

Monday, January 12, 2015

Pride, Prejudice & Secrets Blog Tour

Hey Everyone! I'm very excited to be part of the Pride, Prejudice & Secrets Blog Tour! C.P. Odom has a new book coming out and it looks fantastic! Can't wait to read this one! Today, Mr. Odom has stopped by to answer a some questions I asked him! Also, Meryton Press is giving away a couple of copies of Pride, Prejudice & Secrets!! You can find that information at the bottom of this post! 




I want to thank Candy for hosting me here at So Little Time... as part of the Pride, Prejudice, and Secrets blog tour.  Since she gave me several interesting questions, I’ll get right to them.  

1.  Her first question was, “Are there any juicy tidbits of information you can give us about this “secret”? Haha!”  To start with, there is not just a single secret involved in the plot.  As those who have read Pride and Prejudice intensively remember, there are a number of very voluble and intense confrontations in Austen’s novel that result in very frank and very painful reactions and subsequent outcomes.  For example, while Elizabeth Bennet challenges Darcy with having thwarted the hopes of both her elder sister and George Wickham, her most hurtful charge was that he had not behaved in a gentlemanlike manner.  To Darcy, to be insulted in such a manner would have been unprecedented in his life, especially to have received the charge from someone so dear to him.  If the reader has read the back blurb for my novel, they will know that Elizabeth finds herself unwittingly engaged to Darcy and in such a manner that this explosive confrontation does not occur.  If she subsequently decides, for reasons good or bad, not to break the engagement (remember that engagements were difficult to break among the upper classes in the Regency), would there be any reason for her to make such hurtful charges to the man she is to marry and live with for the rest of her life?  Or would she keep her secrets?  Further, since the confrontation at the Parsonage didn’t occur, how would Darcy ever learn that he had been mistaken in his assumption of Jane Bennet’s indifference to his friend Bingley?  I had in mind the point of view that often another word for “frankness” is “cruelty.”  Remember Lady Catherine, who thought that her “character has ever been celebrated for its sincerity and frankness.”  The rest of us would likely have a contrary opinion, that some opinions are better kept unsaid.

2.  “What inspired you to write this particular story?”  Many P&P variations have played around with the idea of Elizabeth Bennet accepting Darcy’s first proposal at Hunsford, and I did have a long-dormant plot bunny that did indeed have that as a premise, along with a number of ramifications resulting from the non-occurrence of the fiery Parsonage confrontation, many of them based on what might occur if many of the charges hurled at Darcy (and those he hurled back) remained unsaid.  The problem was that I had tried and rejected a number of possibilities as to how such an unlikely situation might come about.  I remember seeing one story a long time ago where the word “yes” just popped out of Elizabeth’s mouth, a premise hard to swallow.  So that plot bunny was in my list of plot bunnies that would probably never see the light of day, until one evening when I was having a rambling, left-brained engineer discussion with my elder daughter, who is following in her dad’s footprints and studying computer engineering in college.  A news story was on the TV about some health scare when Mikaelie made the idle comment that she wasn’t worried, since she doesn’t get sick.  Bingo!  Suddenly I remembered that obscure plot bunny, and, since my laptop was close at hand, I quickly had the file open and was nodding in excitement at how my daughter’s comment might provide a rationale for how Elizabeth Bennet might wind up with everyone believing she was engaged to Darcy (including Darcy himself).  An Elizabeth who had never really been sick before might well do something unwise (like coming downstairs instead of remaining in bed).  She might also, in a blurry haze from her fever, might give a nod acknowledging what Darcy had said when he offered marriage (in a very brief few sentences, without any of the hemming-and-hawing in P&P), which Darcy could easily interpret as acceptance.  So that was what got me started writing this novel.  I even give mention in my dedication to my daughter’s contribution to the story line.

3.  “Sounds like a high angst level story, would you say so?”  Compared to Consequences?  Naa!  There’s some stress and strain associated with that day at Hunsford, but my own opinion is that Darcy was never close to being as bad as Elizabeth thought him to be.  He needed instruction, and that, the proper choice of wife might give him, either harshly as in P&P or more subtly and gently as in my novel.  I guess I’m not really giving anything away when I reveal that the two lovebirds eventually come to a proper understanding, and I leave hints that Darcy still retains some elitist tendencies at the beginning, which will require some time and gentle hints to correct.  But he always was an honorable man, and while a woman cannot totally reform and refine a totally disreputable oaf, she can modify certain of his bad habits.

4.  “What are your plans for future books?”  I still have all those plot bunnies, as well as four novel length stories that were previously published as fan fiction some years back.  Several of them would require considerable rewriting before they were ready for publication, but then I never thought Consequences would be published.  It was my most daring book, with all the angst involved (I’m not normally a high-angst person; I regard my glass as half-full rather than half-empty), so who knows?  In addition, I’m working on a plot that is partway between science-fiction and Jane Austen’s world, involving alternate realities, but that is in the very beginning stages of plotting.


In closing, I’ll just mention, in case it wasn’t clear from my previous comments, that Pride, Prejudice, and Secrets is a completely new novel, never before published in any form, fan fiction or otherwise.  It’s also longer than my other books, since I deal with several subplots, one of which I never thought to deal with:  The redemption of George Wickham.  I’ve killed him off in a couple of my stories and jailed him in a couple more, but I never thought to portray his rehabilitation.  The reader will have to decide whether I carry it off convincingly, along with a couple of other subplots I had fun with.  So, for those of you who do give PP&S a read, I hope you find it entertaining.

Thank you so much for answering my questions, Mr. Odom! You've intrigued me with the rehabilitation of George Wickham! Ooh! and an Austenesque Sci-Fi sounds interesting as well! 

I love the cover! 


Book Blurb:
“Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised, or a little mistaken.”
Jane Austen


It is always the completely unforeseen events that lead to the most unexpected consequences, and such is the case in this variation on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. One of the crucial points in Austen’s novel is Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s fiery and passionate refusal and denunciation of the equally passionate but infinitely more repressed Fitzwilliam Darcy. What might eventuate if the robustly healthy Elizabeth falls prey to illness for almost the first time in her life just when Darcy comes to call? Bemused by her illness, she hardly comprehends what Darcy is asking, and her simple nod of acknowledgment is misinterpreted as acceptance of his suit by a joyous Darcy. By the time Elizabeth regains her health, it seems that every one of her acquaintance and many outside of it accept that she has become engaged to the last man in the world she would ever have considered marrying. Can she openly demand her engagement to the amorous but prideful Darcy be broken, a course fraught with hazards in the social milieu of Regency England? In a maelstrom of confusion, choices have to be made and disclosures closely considered. Elizabeth knows that nothing in her life will ever be the same, and the consequences will likely spread further than she can imagine.


Buy: Amazon
Add to goodreads!


FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provide, I will receive a small commission. Thanks! 

About C. P. (Colin) Odom:


By training, I’m an engineer, born in Texas, raised in Oklahoma, and graduated from the University of Oklahoma following a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps.  The next thirty-five years was spent as an engineer in Arizona with my first wife, Margaret, where we raised two sons before her untimely death from cancer.  Six years later, I married Jeanine, and we are raising our two girls that we adopted from China.  I have always been a voracious reader and collector of books, and my favorite genres were (and are) science fiction, historical fiction, histories, and, in recent years, reading (and later writing) Jane Austen romantic fiction. This late-developing interest was indirectly stimulated when I read my late wife's beloved Jane Austen books after her passing.  One thing led to another, and I now have three novels published:  A Most Civil Proposal (2013), Consequences (2014), and Pride, Prejudice, and Secrets (2015).  After retiring from engineering in 2011, I currently live in Chandler, Arizona with my family, two stubbornly untrainable dogs, and a quartet of very strange cats.  My hobbies are reading, woodworking (which helps with bookcases for all those books), college football (no NFL gladiatorial arenas for this citizen!), and Formula One racing (no NASCAR – at least they turn both ways in F1).


Connect with C.P. Odom




Blog Tour Schedule

1/4: Guest Post & Giveaway at My Jane Austen Book Club 
1/5: Review at Margie's Must Reads
1/6: Guest Post & Giveaway at Babblings of a Bookworm
1/7: Review at Diary of an Eccentric
1/8: Review at Wings of Paper
1/10: Review at The Calico Critic 
1/11: Excerpt & Giveaway at My Love for Jane Austen 
1/12: Guest Post & Giveaway at So Little Time…
1/13: Excerpt & Giveaway at Best Sellers and Best Stellars
1/14: Author Interview at Wings of Paper
1/15: Excerpt & Giveaway at Everything Books & Authors 
1/18: Review at The Delighted Reader
1/19: Guest Post at More Agreeably Engaged



~ ~ ~ GIVEAWAY ~ ~ ~

It's giveaway time! Meryton Press is generously giving away one paperback and one e-copy (Kindle or Nook) of 
Pride, Prejudice & Secrets by C.P. Odom! 
To enter fill out the Rafflecopter below and leave a comment!

Thank you, C.P. Odom, Meryton Press and Leatherbound Reviews!

  • One person will win a paperback of Pride, Prejudice & Secrets.
  • One person will win an e-copy (Kindle or Nook) of Pride, Prejudice & Secrets.
  • Open Internationally.
  • Last day to enter: January 19th, 2015
Good luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Please, leave a comment! We'd love to hear from you! Remember, to enter the giveaway you MUST fill out the Rafflecopter (shown above). If you need any help entering, email me! Just click on the icon at the top of the sidebar. Thanks! 

Saturday, January 10, 2015

This Christmas by Katlyn Duncan ~ My Review


I read this before Christmas, but I got caught up in the holidays and didn't get this review written. The holidays are over, but I still wanted to get this posted! :) 



This Christmas by Katlyn Duncan 


Publication Date: November 18th, 2014 
Publisher: Carina UK 
Pages: 160 
Received: E-copy from the publisher. 
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars






 
I enjoyed reading This Christmas. This novella is the sequel to This Summer, and is full of Christmas themes! A cabin in the woods, snowball fights, picking out and decorating a Christmas tree…

With the holidays approaching, Hadley and Will are finally going to spent some much-needed time together. Hadley has a lot of insecurities about her relationship with Will, and she hopes spending Christmas Break together is just what they need to get back on track. But old insecurities, moodiness and misunderstandings put an edge on the festivities.  Hadley wants more than anything to make Will's Christmas a special one.

I think I would have enjoyed This Christmas more had I read This Summer first. I wasn’t totally lost, but I think I would have understood Will's moodiness more. Being a novella, it was a quick read and festive for the holidays! Now, I would like to get to know Hadley and Will more by reading This Summer!


FTC Disclaimer: I received an ARC e-copy of the story from the publisher via NetGalley for my honest review.

Buy: Amazon
Add to goodreads


FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provide, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!

Connect with Katlyn Duncan

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Any thoughts? I'd love to hear! 

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

What are you Reading? ~ Jan. 7, 2015

Hey Everyone! Happy New Year! This is my first post of the new year. It's a little late in the day, but I wanted to post my Wednesday post. Unfortunately, MizB of Should be Reading has discontinued her W... W... W... Wednesdays post, so I thought I would start my own! :) Feel free to join me if you want! Just grab a copy of the banner and link to So little time... or post your answers in the comments below. Thanks!



I'm going to ask and answer the same basic questions:


  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you'll read next?



What am I currently reading? I am currently reading Take Me On (Pushing the Limits) by Katie McGarry. So far I've enjoyed all of Katie McGarry's book, and I have no doubt I'll enjoy this one! 






What did I recently finish reading? I finished reading a couple of books over the holiday break. First was, This Is Falling (The Falling Series, Book 1) by Ginger Scott. I loved this one!! It's in the same vein as Katie McGarry stories, but college level, more of a New Adult than a YA. 






Next I read, You and Everything After (The Falling Series, Book 2) by Ginger Scott. After I had read the first book in the series, I had to read the second! What I found really interesting, is that this book is written during the same time-period as the first, only from the POV of a different couple. Ty is the brother of Nate (This is Falling) and Cass is the roommate of Rowe (This is Falling). Although you see Nate and Rowe in this story, it focuses on Cass and Ty. I loved it!






What do I think I'll read next? For a nice change of pass, maybe I'll read The Vagabond Vicar by Charlotte Brentwood. We shall see! 







FTC Disclaimer: Links to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provide, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!

What are you reading? I'd love to hear!!

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