Getting the mojo back .... I hope

* I re-entered the wonderful world of Twitter

* I re-joined NetGalley (sadly, all achievements and pre-approvals are lost because I have no idea how to retrieve the previous account since the email it was attached to no longer exists)

* I printed up tracking sheets for the Alphabet Soup Challenge -- one for A to Z Titles & one for A to Z Authors. 

Hey, it could happen.

Timeless by Gail Carriger (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

And so another series is finished. Luckily, the next Gail Carriger series is a continuation so I'm not quite completely forlorn ..... yet. Slightly forlorn because I have yet to get my hands on the first book of the next set but I will. I definitely will.

Gail is some kind of magic with slump breaking. I believe I've said so before. I'm just hoping that no one ever tries to turn her wonderful books into a tv series or, even worse, condense them down to movie length. Not after what happened to Bridgerton.

No lengthy "this is why it's awesome" because I would have to go all the way back to the beginning of Finishing School and you should just read them all yourself.

As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

Heartless by Gail Carriger (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

I know. I'm horrible. 

To be fair, it's been hard to read much less write about it most days .... weeks ..... months .......

Hopefully 2021 will be better at least as far as that goes. Not really expecting much out of the year in general, but I'm trying to at least get thee ol' book mojo back.

I'm also horrible in completely neglecting to do even a quick tease post about the third book in this series. I did the first and the second .... and now the fourth. Whatever. It was a bad week when I finally eeked out any oomph to read it and then it went and returned itself to the library before I nabbed any quotes. 

It was a great book, though. 

Of course it was. It was written by Gail.

Anyway, I've got 32 percent left to read of Heartless and 3 hours left to my work shift. 

The upside of Tuesdays being teaser days? No one probably expects me to say much besides : here's the book and teasers. 

So, yeah.

Here's the book and teasers:

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

He Will Be Mine by Kirsty Greenwood (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Title: He Will Be Mine

Author: Kirsty Greenwood

Publication: 10 November 2020

Format: Kindle ebook ARC provided by author (which in no way swayed my feelings, by the way)

Amazon Description: 

Nora Tucker is an admin assistant from a tiny English village.

Gary Montgomery is Hollywood’s hottest new star.

After seeing him on the silver screen, Nora believes that Gary is her soulmate, her one true love, the man she's supposed to grow old and wrinkly with. She knows it sounds nuts, she knows it’s completely crazy. But sometimes love is crazy, right?

Only... how on earth is this Plain Jane introvert supposed to get to Los Angeles, infiltrate Gary’s inner circle AND convince him that they’re meant to be? Throwing herself into this mission might be a tall order but it means Nora can stop thinking about that one awful day, two years ago, when everything in her life fell apart...

With the help of a sunny Californian weather girl, a super hot but super grumpy script writer, and a very passionate Adam Levine tribute act, Nora is about to try the impossible and let fate decide her future…

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

Okay, so it's been a while since I've rambled or reviewed or teased. 

Quite a while. 

Like, since June. 

I've read .... occasionally. I've even done the star thing on Goodreads a few times .... I think. 

And then I got an invitation to read Kirsty Greenwood's latest well before it's release and I jumped at it. It was perfect timing, too. I was about to go on a mini vacation to see my one-and-only for the first time since February and it was going to be the perfect read while I waited for him to arrive or be done with work stuff or on the bus back home or whatever.

I made it to Chapter Eighteen and was so wrapped up in the amazingness of it when it had barely even started. Then some amazing quality time with my 💖 put the reading on hold and then .... 

well .... 

life.

I was not in the mood to deal with fictional happily ever afters. 

I was not in the mood to deal with much of anything.

I probably should have continued reading anyway because, as it turns out, it's pretty much the perfect roller-coaster of a book and likely would have helped with the dealing. 

I laughed. I cried. I cried some more. I laughed even more. It was definitely a roller-coaster worth riding, though. Once again, Kirsty Greenwood has given the rom-com world a book worthy of far more than 5 stars.

Go figure.

I should have known, really, based on previous experience with Greenwood -- particularly Big Sexy Love, which I read at one of the most "not in the mood" times of my life.

Note to Self: If I ever find myself in one again, I'll just grab a Greenwood.

Note to You: Even if you're not in a "not in the mood" mood, grab a Greenwood. As amazing as He Will Be Mine is, I would grab Big Sexy Love first, and those who know why will understand -- quite possibly with a smirk and a nod.

As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Jennieke Cohen's Dangerous Alliance ended up being a lovely read with a lot of Jane Austen references, which is generally a huge bonus for me. The characters were often discussing or reading her works -- the final part of Emma having just been published. It took me far too long to get through it because life is ... blah. But if you like Austen and Regencies and their ilk, I would recommend this. And there's no smut. Hardly even any kissing. I do love a good bodice ripper once in a while but I was glad that this is written more YA-friendly.

And just an FYI : I am absolutely not a fan of the new blogger interface so far. 

At all. 

Friday 56 (today is page 356 of the hardcover) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.