Blog Tour: Alpha Mail by Brenda Rothert #Review


Today I have a review of Alpha Mail by Brenda Rothert. A adult contemporary romance. Check out my review below.


BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Sienna Mills knows her alpha males. 
They brood. 
They growl. 
They love the word “mine”.

After spending her early twenties in and out of relationships with alphas, Sienna used her knowledge to found Alpha Mail, a booming business that allows women to sign up for emails, letters, and texts from their own brooding, red-blooded man.

Her star is on the rise and Sienna is attracting the interest of investors when a mysterious man starts messaging her about the true nature of an alpha. She’s got it all wrong, he says, and he’s willing to show her how a real man makes women respond.

The more Sienna hears from him, the more aggravated she becomes. Who does this anonymous, supposed alpha think he is, anyway? 
And yet…she can’t deny his messages are becoming the best part of her days. Commitment-phobic Sienna finds herself wanting more from her sensei of seduction. But is she willing to trust her heart to an alpha again?



Thank you to Ink Singer PR for the e arc in exchange for an honest review

Alpha Mail has a unique concept in some ways and traditional troupes in others. What I found refreshing was the leading lady Sienna. She was done with relationships with Alphas. After experiencing alpahas throughout her twenties she used that knowledge and her experiences to create Alpha Mail, "a booming business that allows women to sign up for emails, letters and texts from their own brooding, red-blooded man." Sienna's reference to what an aphla is, is similair to what I think but a mystery man called roughrider16 is out to proof Sienna and me what a real Alapha is.

I really liked the concept of the Alpha mail company, to be honest its a really good business idea to actually happen for real. I liked Sienna who is independant, knows what she wants and goes and gets it kinda woman but Roughrider16 turns that on its head. Sienna and roughrider16 talk though email and text, and I liked seeing their relationship grow, the mystery of who roughrider16 really was had me intrigued and I didn't know who it was. However once was we did find out I was a little disappointed. We start to get chapters from the love interest and even though I liked him, I just wasnt feeling him with Sienna, however near the end I started to get back into it and by the end I did enjoy it. 

Something I did enjoy throughout was friendship. Sienna has a best friend, Carman who I really liked. Siennas compassion for her friend and also her friends son who is ill was great to see. I enjoyed Carmen as a side character as well as all the alphas who work for the company. So much so that I would love to read some of their stories as well as Carmans.

Overall I enjoyed Aphla Mail I liked the characters but I just felt at times there was something missing for me. 3.25 stars to Alpha Mail.


AUTHOR BIO:

Brenda Rothert is an Illinois native who was a print journalist for nine years. She made the jump from fact to fiction in 2013 and never looked back. From new adult to steamy contemporary romance, Brenda creates fresh characters in every story she tells. She’s a lover of Diet Coke, chocolate, lazy weekends and happily ever afters.


My Bookish Birthday party


Today is my birthday!! I love birthdays but I hate getting older. Today am 29, and I intend to spend my last year in my twenties having fun with my family and friends and being surrounded by books, books and more books. Over the last week I have had guest posts from authors and bloggers of their ideal bookish birthday parties, today it's my turn!The catch is I will be having guest’s from some of my favourite books, picking some yummy food from again my favourite books and everything that is required for a party taken from books. Grab a cupcake and check out my bookish post below!


Venue:

Venue is important, if there is no venue there is no party. My venue for the party is Neverland. Now I know your thinking Neverland, really. But all my friends and family call me a female version of Peter Pan because I don’t want to grow up. And that is true but sadly I have grown up, being 29 this year. However in my heart I will always be young at heart. So Neverland is the perfect place, however am not sure if I will invite Peter or the lost boys!

Theme:

I think my theme would be, big surprise, come as one of your favourite book characters. Easy as that!

What will I wear?

So I have to come as one of my favourite book characters. So I would come as Hermione circa the Yule Ball dress.

Food:

I love food! A bold statement but it’s true. I have no other choice but to choose the food from Harry Potter. Come on, what other food would I pick. I want Hagrid to make me a birthday cake, then I would have every food I could get. From Chocolate frogs to Bertie Botts Every Flavour beans. So, basically everything of no nutritional value.

Music:

I am going of page with this and picking some of my favourite bands to play me some sets. I would pick 30 seconds to mars, Panic at the disco and going of genre, Taylor Swift because I am obsessed her new music.

Guests:

Because this is my party I can make it the weirdest party that doesn’t make sense, by inviting some of my favourite authors and well as characters. I know I don’t know what planet this would make sense. Maybe, Neverland! So apart from my family and friends, I would invite some of my favourite authors, Jodi Ellen Malpas, EL James, Anna Todd, Tiffany Reisz, Charaline Harris, Deborah Harknes, Cecelia Ahern and JK Rowling. The list could go on! For characters, all the Slater brothers from LA Casey’s Slater brother series, we need these hot American alphas. I want Gallowglass and Marcus from the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.  We have to throw some Harry Potter characters in there, let’s make it interesting, how about Luna and Dobby. And to top it off let’s throw Mr Grey in. I swear this is the weirdest combination of people!
My Date:

My date would be none other than Eric Northman. I love Eric from the Sookie Stackhouse Series so much. If I couldn’t have him I would love to have Alexander Skarsgard as my date because, it’s Alexander Skarsgard!

So that's my ideal bookish birthday party. What would yours be?

Check out all the other guest posts this week:





Birthday Guest Post: Emily's Party by Parker Swift


On the eve of my birthday I am so excited to have author Parker Swift on my blog. I read Parker's Royal Scandal books this year and loved them. Royal Affair the first book in series is one of favourite books of the year. You can check out my review here Without further ado here is Emily's Birthday by Parker Swift and show her some comment love below.



The Royal Scandal series, by Parker Swift, follows Dylan Hale, a British alpha aristocratic architect, and Lydia Bell, the American fashion assistant who cracks his steely heart. 

Royal Affair
Royal Disaster
Royal Treatment

The Party:


Our host: Lady Emily Hale 

Age at time of party: 22

Who she is: Fashionable “it girl” in London and the younger sister of Dylan, the Duke of Abingdon. She’s always been in her big brother’s shadow and lived under the heavy weight of her parents’ expectations, but there’s a firey girl inside, and a party is a safe place to let her loose. 

Where she hails from: England, specifically Humboldt Park, a grand ducal estate a couple of hours outside of London 

Occupation: College student at Oxford University, studying art history. That is until she starts to study business. And then she. . . (you’ll have to read the books to find out!) 

Who she has her eyes on: Not telling, but if you read the books then you know 

The scene: An over-the-top Roaring Twenties themed cocktail party in honor of Emily’s graduation from university. Lydia helped her plan, and they’ve been daydreaming about the “Bright Young Things” (insert link: http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Bright-Young-Things/) of London’s 1920’s, Gatsby, Hemingway, and all of the incredible hats, shoes, and the carpe-diem attitude that Emily is craving. 

Venue: The Connaught Bar at the Connaught Hotel in London – Emily would notice that not only is it thematically on point, but there are sufficient hidden corners where sinful things might happen. 

What she’s wearing: A custom Jenny Packham twenties-themed cocktail dress, beaded fringe and all. She’s topped it off with a feathery headband in her long dark hair, high heels, and long dangly tear-drop earrings to match.

What you’re wearing: She hopes that everyone comes dressed in 1920’s theme, but Emily is too polite to turn you away for not complying. 

Who’s there: Dylan & Lydia (of course!), Prince Richard and Princess Caroline, Fiona and Josh, Will Arden (Dylan’s best friend), and fifty or so of their closest friends.

Music: A live band covering Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and other jazz standards. Technically the party wasn’t supposed to have dancing, but people can’t help themselves. It all starts when Dylan, who hasn’t been able to take his eyes off of Lydia, pulls her into an uncrowded space in the room and begins swaying her without thinking.  Within minutes there’s a makeshift dancefloor, and one brave couple even attempts to swing dance when Benny Goodman comes on. 

Signature drink: The Clover Club

Presents: No presents please!  

Connect with Parker:

WebsiteFacebook / Instagram @parker.swift/ Twitter @the_parkerswift

Birthday Guest Post; My Bookish Birthday party by Stephanie @ BookFever


Today I have another guest post, this time from Stephanie @ Bookfever. Check out her awesome bookish birthday party below and show her some love in the comments.

Helloooo everyone! I'm Stephanie from Bookfever and today is my turn to post my dream birthday party. I had so much fun doing this and now I wish I could really have this birthday party in December. Also, a very happy birthday to Megan, who's birthday is on October 30th *throws confentti* And thank you so much for having me on your blog to celebrate, Megan! ♥

Venue:

Initially I thought the venue would be hard to pick but the first place coming to mind is the Fowl manor. For those who are not familiar with the Fowl manor, it's from the Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer a.k.a. my favorite books ever, where Artemis lives. It's huge, obviously and seems like a perfect place for a birthday party. And you never know, some fairies may visit as well. ;)

Theme

It may be a little cheesy but the theme would be: Masquerade ball. Who doesn't love fancy clothes and beautiful masks? Quite a lot of books that I have read have masquerade balls in them, like Fifty Shades Darker (If I'm not mistaken), Clockwork Prince and a whole lot of historical romance novels too. They're always some of my favorite scenes. 

What will I wear?

I would love to wear the masquerade dress that Christine (played by Sierra Boggess) wears in the 25th Anniversary of Phantom of the Opera, which is probably my favorite musical of all time. I absolutely love the dress and mask. It's so gorgeous. And hey, if the Phantom (Ramin Karimloo a.k.a my musical crush) shows up that's just a bonus. 

Food:

I would only get food in the shape of my favorite books. Any food, all food. Although I might not want to eat those because I couldn't do that to anything that looks like books, even if it's delicious food. Also strawberries with chocolate because YUM! *drools*

Music:

I have quite the eclectic taste in music. As much as I only want to play music from Phantom I wouldn't do that to my guests. I like rock, pop, country, 60's-70's-80's and of course musicals. So it would be a mix from my favorite bands and singers mostly. Muse, P!nk, Panic at the Disco, The Beatles, Fall Out Boy, Lady Antebellum, maybe even Taylor Swift's new album. Oh and throw in Usher's 'Yeah' because I danced on it on my very first real party when I was 13. Nostalgia!

Guests:

Sorry to my real life friends and family but this would be a bloggers, authors and bookworms only party. Hell, bring a book so we can all gush about our favorites. This is mostly because my friends and family don't get my love for books or the book blogging community. And if I could magically make book characters appear I would make sure everyone got to bring their favorite characters as well. That would be quite the party, right?

My Date:

This is the hardest decision ever. Obviously it has got to be a book character. And I would bring... Adrian Ivashkov! Sorry, Sydney but there's no other way. For those who are unfamiliar with him, he's from the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines books (and yes he's a vampire). He actually was my very first book boyfriend. I fangirled about that guy so freaking hard for ages. I really do miss the books he was in. So yup, he's my date. ^_^ 

Thank you to Stephanie for that awesome post. Check out the other posts from my birthday guests posts here

Birthday Guest Post: Birthday Party by Kerry-Ann & #giveaway


Today I have an awesome post from my sister Kerry Ann who is also a fellow blogger. Kerry Ann has written her ideal fantasy birthday party along with fun book characters attending. Check out her post below along with a giveaway. Also if you missed author Ashelyn Drakes birthday post on Monday. Check it out here


When someones mentions party there ain't no party like an S Club Party or a Mad Hatters Tea Party! Although when all you are allowed to choose are fictional characters I'm going to throw my own Mad Hatters Tea Party! Park your bottoms, your in for a wild time!

I'm going to be honest I've considered the nitty gritty details like I'm honestly planning a tea party, I've thought about who'd I'd invite, the venue, food, time & more! No details or information should be left unturned so without me babbling on here is my tea party! 

I've decided to swing it that I have 10 guests! I was insitally going to switch the characters from the mad hatters tea party and switch them to my specific ones but then I though my party will be madder than the mad hatters tea party so buckle up!

The birthday girl herself Megan is obviously invited, I mean my sister has to come! I've included the books or series they come from and also the authors beside incase you want to google them after!

Guests:

1, Moi Kerry-Ann
2, Megan 

3, Bella Swan Cullen - Twilight -  Stephanie Meyer

4, Katy - The Lux Series -  Jennifer L Armentrout




5, Hermione - Harry Potter - JK Rowling
6, Alex - The Covenant Series - Jennifer L. Armentrout


7, Riley - The Demon Trappers - Jana Oliver
8, Ana - Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L James


9, Julia - The Remembrance Trilogy - Kahlen Aymes
10, Ava - This Man trilogy - Jodi Ellen Malpas



Venue: 
I'd love an English tea room type venue. Very british with our tea and tea cups! Would be brilliant! 

Food:

Definitely Scones, I mean come on it' a tea party! I'd love little jammie dodgers, bookish cupcakes cause I mean obvs we'd all be discussing our favourite books. PLUS Julia would have to bring some of her famous lemon poppyseed muffins. 


About Kerry-Ann 

Kerry-Ann is a Fashion, Lifestyle & book blogger! Her addictions include Shopping, Chocolate, Reading & Crafting which she is seeking no help for. 

Keep up to date with Kerry-Ann on: Instagram  / Twitter / Facebook

Who would you bring to your tea party? Let me know in the comments below or tweet me @KerryAnn93


Giveaway

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Open to anyone who can recieve a amazon .co.uk giftcard
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Birthday Guest Post: Emily's Party by Ashelyn Drake


Today is a week to my birthday, and I thought I would get some of my favourite authors and bloggers to write me a guest post, with the topic of arranging a party for themselves or a character from their book. Today's post is from author Kelly Hashway writing as Ashelyn Drake. Kelly is an author I first was introduced to back when I first started blogging and since then has moved into adult and new adults works under Ashelyn Drake.


Check out Kelly's party for Emily a character in her upcoming book, I Belong With You.


I Belong With You is the second book in the Love Chronicles series. Why didn’t I choose the first book? Well, the main character Aria Carmichael has a birthday party in that book, so I already threw her a party. I thought it would be more fun to throw a party for Emily Richards, the main character in book two. As you can see, this is a companion series, and each book stands alone.

First, here’s a little about I Belong With You:

Emily Richards and David Burke are the best of coworkers—pretending they’re over their hot yet short-lived romance.When Emily finds herself without a place to live, David jumps to her rescue, offering a room in his apartment. But how can two people who are very attracted to each other survive being in such close quarters, sharing everything including a shower? David is ready to settle down, but that’s the last thing on Emily’s mind. Will the lies and jealousy between them be the end of their relationship for good?


A little about Emily:

Emily is a twenty-three-year-old opinions editor at a small paper called For the Record in a fictional town that is like a small-scale New York City.


Venue:

Emily wouldn’t think of having a party anywhere but Last Call, the bar everyone she knows frequents. She’d rent out the party room in the back, and since she knows the owner, Caleb, she’d get a great deal on it.


Guest list:

Tara Luca—best friend
David Burke—coworker/roommate/best male friend
Aria Carmichael—boss/coworker
Nate Dixon—coworker
Sharonda—former roommate
The rest of the cast at For the Record.


The entire cast of Supernatural. Did I mention Emily has a thing for Dean Winchester? No idea where she got that from. It’s not like I drool over him or anything. So my birthday present to her (and me) is to have the entire cast attend her birthday party. Let’s just pretend they’re in town filming a new episode of the show and decided to crash the awesome party at the best bar in Priority.


Food:

Emily loves Amstel Light, so there will be plenty of that to go around. She also likes simple food: pizza, garlic knots, giant roast beef subs, German potato salad, etc. So there would be a buffet of all kinds of classic foods everyone loves.


Emily’s Date:

Well, Emily would definitely show up with David, but only because they carpooled. They are technically exes, and even if they are both still very attracted to each other, they wouldn’t push the limits of their friendship by being each other’s dates. What happens after the party might be a different story, though. I guess it depends on how things go after Dean Winchester crashes the party. ;)


Thanks for letting me plan this party for Emily, Megan! Happy birthday to you!


Thank you to Kelly/Ashelyn for that awesome post. You can check out Kelly on all her social media platforms below.



Which book character without you have as your number one guest? Leave me your answer in the comments below.


#Review Hold Her Again by Shannon Stacey

Happy Book Birthday to Hold Her Again by Shannon Stacey, a sweet second chance Hoilday romance. Check out my review and grab your copy today!


Photo from my Instagram Megan_readingawaythedays 


A country-music star returns home to win back the woman he loves in this charming holiday novella from New York Times bestselling author Shannon Stacey

Ava Wright isn't happy to see her high school sweetheart rolling into their hometown a few weeks before Christmas. He's only come back to bury his estranged father, but there's no way she'll be able to avoid him. No one can: he's become a country-music superstar since going solo and leaving Ava behind. 

Jace Morrow grew up believing "money can't buy happiness" was something people said to make themselves feel better. But now he knows it's the truth: no matter how many number-one hits he has, he'll never recapture the magic of singing with Ava. Missing her—loving her—and living with making the wrong choice in life were what made him who he is. 

When Jace is roped into being part of the town's annual Christmas party, he only cares about earning Ava's forgiveness. And though Ava's heart has never healed, she loved Jace too much and for too long to shut him out when he's hurting. As they fall in love all over again, they're both faced with choices for their future…and this time Jace intends to make the right one.


Thank you to Netgalley and Carina Press for an e arc in exchange for an honest review.

Hold Her Again is a sweet second chance, hoilday novella perfect for this time of year. 

Ava was heartbroken when Jace made the choice of picking becoming a huge country singer over her, a choice that left her devastated.  Flash forward many years and Jace, now a successful country singer is returning to their small home town to bury his estranged father but all he can think about is getting a glimpse of the girl he left behind all those years ago. Can Jace make the right decision this time? Only time will tell and maybe a little Hoilday magic thrown in.

I really enjoyed the story of a second chance romance, it gave me all the feels and the country music vibe added for a great story. The story is told in duel POV and I engaged and saw both sides of the coin. You can tell that both these characters truly love each other and can move forward if only they can forgave and learn from past mistakes.

Overall Hold Her Again was a quick sweet, light romance, with just a little angst thrown in. A perfect Hoilday read curled up with a blanket and hot chocolate. 3.75 stars to Hold Her Again

What are your thoughts on Hold Her Again? Will you be picking it up this Hoilday season?

#Review Holiday Spice by Samantha Chase


Today I have a review of Holiday Spice by Samantha Chase. Hoilday Spice is a contemporary romance, that is part of a series of companions but can be read as a standalone. Check out my review below and grab a copy for yourself!


ABOUT THE BOOK

Darcy Shaughnessy has gotten used to her overbearing brothers chasing away any man she wants to date. But a chance meeting with a brooding – and deliciously handsome – artist is about to make this holiday season one to remember.

There's only one thing Benjamin Tanner loves more than his woodcarving: solitude. Then he gets snowed in with Darcy in his cozy cabin in the woods, and their heated feelings begin to melt the icy barrier between them.

With Ben's need for privacy and Darcy's love of family and social life, will opposites still attract once the snow clears and the holiday festivities come to an end.



Thanks you to InkslingerPR for a earc in exchange for an honest review.

Hoilday Spice is the sixth book in the Shaughnessy Brothers series but can be read as a standalone as each book deals with a different Shaughnessy sibiling. Hoilday Spice is  told in duel POV between Shaughnessy sibling Darcy and Ben, the potential love interest in the story. 

I really enjoyed Hoilday Spice giving it 3.5 stars. It opens with a prologue of a young Darcy waking up on Christmas morning and hoping for her wish, I wish of a mother. Darcy can't really remember her mother after she died when she was very young and all she wants is a mother for Christmas. Flash forward many years we have a headstrong but loving Darcy who has a barrier around her heart, surrounded by a living family of brothers in her life. Ben is a quiet, misunderstood,  at times grumpy guy. Ben and Darcy meet and there's chemistry straight away but both characters have emotional journeys and barriers to overcome individually and together if there ever going to be together.

Hoilday Spice was fun and romantic but also heart breaking as both characters deal with the consequences of grief of loved ones from their past. I really enjoyed the setting of part of the book in Ben's beautiful house in the snow covered mountains of Washington. Darcy loves Christmas and pictures it as the perfect Christmas setting and it really would be. I liked both characters and enjoyed there journeys both separately and together. One thing I did feel is I would like to have read the previous books just to get to know the other siblings and their partners as they are present in the book.

Overall Hoilday Spice was a beautiful Hoilday romance with a important look at grief throughout. 



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than forty titles under her belt! When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.




Book Blitz: Mermaids and the vampires who love them by Debra Goelz #Giveaway



Mermaids and the Vampires Who Love Them by Debra Goelz 

Published by: Hachette Audiobooks

Publication date: October 17th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult


Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Waverly Fishwater believes that people who act suspicious are asking for her to spy on them. When she eavesdrops on one of her dad’s clandestine meetings, she learns that mermaids are being abducted. Fearing no one else will save them, Waverly swaps her tail for legs and heads to the site of the disappearances, but it doesn’t go as planned. After exposing mermaidkind to humanity, Waverly has to come to terms with leaving the home, friends, and school she loves. For her safety, she must go to a remote boarding school on the California coast.

Waverly discovers her new classmates are from a multitude of supernatural species, including werewolves, fairies, and minor Greek gods. But the bigger problem might be all the mermaid-blood loving vampires, and the fact that the most infuriating one has taken an interest in her already.

She must navigate this weird new world where her class schedule includes time-traveling history, fairy dance, interspecies biology, and sand-sculpting vain gods with rock-hard abs. The biggest letdown is that she still has to take algebra, even though polynomials are not her friends.

Just when she’s starting to fit in, she begins to unravel a dark plot that could destroy the bayside school and the oceans beyond. As she gets close to solving the mystery, the mernapper takes hold of her mind and hides the clues that will piece it together. Waverly is left with the knowledge of one thing: she’s next.

If Waverly is to expose the scheme and take out the mastermind, she’s going to have to rely on the most dubious kind of help-reckless gods, single-minded werewolves, and virtuous fairies. To avoid a supernatural catastrophe, Waverly must rally this eccentric band of heroes, learning to rely on the help of others in order to stay afloat.


AUTHOR BIO:


Debra Goelz is a refugee from Hollywood where she served for ten years as a financial executive for such companies as Universal Pictures, Dino de Laurentiis and Jim Henson Productions. Her performing career began and ended with her puppeteering a chicken during the closing scene in "Muppet Treasure Island." After garnering over 9 million on-line reads, her award-winning YA fantasy, "Mermaids and the Vampires Who Love Them," will be published by Hachette audio on October 17, 2017. She lives in a redwood forest in rural Marin County with her husband. Her two children have abandoned her to seek a college education in New York.


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