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06 November 2013

Short Story Review: Entwined by Kristen Callihan

Author: Kristen Callihan
Publication Date: November 5, 2013
Publisher: Forever
Genre: Adult Paranormal Historical Romance
Find It: GoodreadsAmazonB&N
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Eamon Evernight has always lived in his older brother's shadow. While his brother is fair of hair and lithe in body, Eamon sparks fear with his fiery locks and massive frame-and rumors of a mysterious power. But when his brother has the good fortune to be betrothed to a beautiful stranger, it's Eamon's help-and quick wit and romantic heart--that he needs. Eamon agrees to write the noble lady...a generous offer that will forever leave him a changed man.

Lady Luella Jane Moran has no interest in an arranged marriage and tries valiantly to dissuade her betrothed from afar. Though her own letters plainly state her case, the words her husband-to-be writes her leave her aching for his touch. Will Lu give in to the desire the missives have kindled within her? Or will desire turn cold when she discovers their true author?

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Kristen Callihan’s Darkest London series. Though I am normally a bit wary of novellas, I jumped at the chance to read something new set in this dark and magical world. Entwined in an engaging and unexpected story of two people falling in love through words. As a person who still writes letters and loves getting mail, the idea of two falling in love through words before ever having met was one that really appealed to me.

When Eamon’s much favored older brother Aiden becomes betrothed, he urges Eamon to write to his bride-to-be in his stead. Eamon’s goal was to make Lu believe that marriage to his brother would not be so terrible and he does well - too well. Luella and Eamon fall in love over the course of four years and countless letters. Things get a little crazy when Lu shows up on their doorstep and believes she is in love with Aiden. But the man she meets is nothing like the man in her letters and she finds herself drawn to his secretive younger brother.

I had a lot of fun reading this story. Lu and Eamon are well developed characters and the storyline is full of unexpected twists. I loved reading the letters between Lu and Eamon. They are funny and playful and really help us get to know these characters. The idea falling in love through letters is a really romantic one, especially in an age where men and women often knew nothing about each other before marriage. It’s also refreshing to read a story where both characters are virgins. Their first sexual encounter is understandably awkward but also sweet.

Lu is a really strong heroine and I admired her. She loses everything but manages to survive with her spirit intact. I totally fell in love with Eamon. He is a little rough around the edges but has a big heart and is extremely sexy.. He is also a redhead, which is awesome. There should be more red headed men in literature.

Callihan manages to pack a surprising amount of emotional depth into this short story. Fans of the series will undoubtedly enjoy this brief sojourn into Darkest London. You don’t have to read the other books in the series to enjoy this one. It’s pretty far removed from the main storyline and I would have liked to have learned more about the connection between Eamon and Lu and the rest of the Darkest London world. Overall, I really enjoyed Entwined and think it’s a great addition to the Darkest London lineup. I cannot wait for Shadowdance coming out in December!


*I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.





Visit the author online at www.kristencallihan.com, Facebook and follow her on Twitter @Kris10Callihan

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05 November 2013

Top Ten Sequels I Am Dying To Read


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I love lists and what's better than lists about books? This week's topic is Top Ten Sequels I Can't Wait To Get My Hands On. I love standalone novels but I admit that I read more series than not. I am only listing series that I am caught up on (which was surprisingly a good amount). I am not usually one to pre-order books but this list made me want to go out and pre-order everything on the list. :)


1. The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead - You know I am a huge Richelle Mead fan and I am super excited to see what happens next in the Bloodlines series.

2. Champion by Marie Lu - This one actually comes out today and I am kicking myself for not pre-ordering it.

3. Cress by Marissa Meyer- Love this series so hard. I actually have an ARC of this that my friend borrowed. I should probably get that back at some point.

4. Beautiful Beginning by Christina Lauren - This is a novella but it still counts, right? Just finished Beautiful Player and loved it and want more from this series.

5. Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews - So, so excited about this one. It doesn't come out until next summer but I am already waiting for it. A lot is supposed to happen in this book.

6. Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh - Whoa this is 13 in the Psy-Changeling series. I love anything Nalini Singh does and the main character of this one is a story a lot of people have been waiting for.

7. Reaver by Larissa Ione - I've been wanting to read Reaver's story and it's finally coming out this year!

8. The King by J.R. Ward - Wrath. 'Nuff said.

9. Shadowdance by Kristen Callihan - Each book in this series just gets better. I can't wait to finally read the story of Jack and Mary.

10. Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare - I have slowly become obsessed with this series. So far I've liked every book I've read in it.

Just looking at this list is getting me excited. So many good books are coming out. Let me know what sequels you're most excited about in the comments below. Thanks for coming by!




04 November 2013

Manicure Monday (39): Beautiful Player

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another Manicure Monday post. Did you enjoy the extra hour that we got yesterday? I wish we got an extra hour every day. I think I could get a lot of reading done with one more hour in the day. :) Today's Manicure Monday book is Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren. If you follow me on Twitter, you've probably already seen me gush about this one. I like the whole series but this one just might be my favorite. Will and Hanna are fantastic together and their romance is hot but also super sweet. I've already re-read my favorite parts of the books several times over, which is always a sign of how much I like it. Hope to have a review of it up soon though I want to write the review for the previous book in the series first. We'll see how that goes. Anyhow, on to the manicure!


I had an idea for this manicure ever since I got it. I like the simplicity of the covers in this series as they usually only feature one color and then black and white. I knew I wanted to incorporate the stripes into the manicure as well. For this look, I only used two nail colors and black acrylic paint.

Cult Nails Tempest (white)
Color Club Rebel Debutante (green)


I decided to do a gradient using the white and green polishes. This actually turned out harder than I expected because the polish is a jelly (meaning it is slightly sheer). Because it was sheer, it was hard to get a really even gradient and it did not blend really well with the white. I did my best but this certainly is not my best gradient. I used a regular makeup sponge to dab color onto my nails, concentrating more color at the tips to get a graduated color shift.


After putting top coat on that, I used a really thin nail brush and black acrylic paint to paint stripes diagonally onto each nail. You guys, thank god I used acrylic paint that I could wipe off because I had to do the stripes on each nail at least 5 times. Apparently painting straight lines is not my strong suit. I started off with thicker lines and moved onto thinner stripes as I moved down my hand. I was trying to mimic the cover with the darker stripes gradually moving onto two thing stripes in the shirt. 


I did something a little different on my thumb and just used a solid green base and splattered black paint onto it. To do this, I used a little coffee straw to blow paint onto my nail to create a splatter effect. I think it matches the cover quite well.

03 November 2013

Stacked (79)


Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you all remembered to turn your clocks back an hour and are enjoying the extra time this morning.

This week I went to the Markus Zusak signing at B&N The Grove earlier this week and bought a couple of his books. It was a really great event and Markus is Australian, cute and an awesome author, and we all had a good time. Hopefully I'll get a recap of that up soon. I also decided to go to Comikaze yesterday, which is a comic convention in LA that started a few years ago. It's nowhere the size of Comic Con but it's local and it is definitely growing. I picked up a bunch of comics and things from the event and can't wait to start reading.

Borrowed


First up are a couple of book I got from the library. I have been wanting to read both Reality Boy and Vicious and was excited to see them. Vicious is actually a 7 day loan so I started it but have been too tired this week to get very far. Hoping I read more this weekend.

Bought



I am in the middle of reading The Book Thief right now but also picked up I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak. I got a chance to go to a screening of The Book Thief movie this week as well (it was a Book Thief week!) and really enjoyed it. I am only in the middle of the book right now but it's really good. If you get a chance to see Markus speak you should definitely go.

02 November 2013

Better Late Than Never ARC Challenge Oct Check-In


Hi guys! Just a quick check in for the Better Late Than Never ARC Challenge. I haven't been doing too well on this challenge so far, but I still have a couple of months left. I just get distracted by all the new, shiny things but promise I'll try to be better this month. 

Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis
The Bro Magnet by Lauren - STARTED
The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark
Touch of Power by Maria V Snyder
Touch Me by Callie Croix
The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe
Scarlet by AC Gaughen
The Agency: Traitor in the Tunnel by A.S. Lee
Code Name Verity by Elzabeth Wein

Newly added
Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon - READ and REVIEWED
Arcadia by Lauren Groff - READ

Read but need to review:

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt
The Marquess Who Loved Me
Bound by Night by Larissa Ione
Dead Man Walking by Jocelynn Drake
How To Dance with a Duke by Manda Collins


At least I read a couple of things, right? I really need to review some of the books I've actually already read. That's my progress so far. For all the other participants, let me know how you're doing in the comments below or make your own check in post. I'll check in again at the end of the month. Happy reading!