[Blog Tour Review]* The Munich Girl by Phyllis Edgerly Ring

Anna Dahlberg grew up eating dinner under her father’s war-trophy portrait of Eva Braun. Fifty years after the war, she discovers what he never did—that her mother and Hitler’s mistress were friends. The secret surfaces with a mysterious monogrammed handkerchief, and a man, Hannes Ritter, whose Third Reich family history is entwined with Anna’s. Plunged into the world of the “ordinary” Munich girl who was her mother’s confidante—and a tyrant’s lover—Anna finds her every belief about right and wrong challenged. With Hannes’s help, she retraces the path of two women who met as teenagers, shared a friendship that spanned the years that Eva Braun was Hitler’s mistress, yet never knew that the men they loved had opposing ambitions. Eva’s story reveals that she never joined the Nazi party, had Jewish friends, and was credited at the Nuremberg Trials with saving 35,000 Allied lives. As Anna's journey leads back through the treacherous years in wartime Germany, it uncovers long-buried secrets and unknown reaches of her heart to reveal the enduring power of love in the legacies that always outlast war. 

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 336 pages (Paperback)

Source: Review Copy

Available Formats: Print/E-book

Genre: Historical Fiction

Series: N/A

Publication Date: November 14th 2015 by Whole Sky Books

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Many of you know how much of a historical fiction fan I am. I love the genre, I love how authors are able to capture history and bring it to life....and I generally like all historical periods though there is one subset that I don't venture into very often and that is WWII historical fiction. Then there are books that come a long and make me question why? 

The Munich Girl was rich with historical details. Chronicling three different women Anna, Peggy, and Eva Braun and told in different timelines as Anna is in 1995 and she's set to solve the family mystery that began 50 years before during the Second World War.

I'm a sucker for books that are told in alternating timelines, and from multiple points of view. It's one of my favourite ways to read a historical fiction novel and the way that the author was able to bring all of her characters, the setting, and the emotions to life was amazing. I found Munich Girl to be an emotional read, I was torn between loving and hating certain characters but I do applaud the author for being able to really evoke those feelings in me.

The Munich Girl was fast paced, well written and heartwrenching. I appreciated the amount of research that obviously must have gone into constucting the backdrop of the story. I felt as though I'd been transported back in time, it was almost as if I was in the story myself. I found the lives of the three women in the book to have come together so wonderfully. There were many different threads to follow in the story and everything came together very well. The side characters were also very well fleshed out. They were not used as mere props but had quirks, and there were some I loved and some I hated for various reasons.

Overall, I know I've been slightly vague in my review but fear not dear reader, this was intentional! With how interwoven the stories of the three women are I'd rather not give away any plot twists and believe me The Munich Girl has its fair share of twists. Is it a book that I would recommend? Absolutely. It was a unique story, and I think historical fiction enthusiasts should give it a try, and if you're new to the genre or are just curious about delving into this particular era in history I'd say this is a lovely place to begin and I can't wait to read more by the author. 

Waiting on Wednesday #157

A beloved culinary historian s short takes on six famous women through the lens of food and cooking what they ate and how their attitudes toward food offer surprising new insights into their lives. 
Everyone eats, and food touches on every aspect of our lives social and cultural, personal and political. Yet most biographers pay little attention to people s attitudes toward food, as if the great and notable never bothered to think about what was on the plate in front of them. Once we ask how somebody relates to food, we find a whole world of different and provocative ways to understand her. Food stories can be as intimate and revealing as stories of love, work, or coming-of-age. Each of the six women in this entertaining group portrait was famous in her time, and most are still famous in ours; but until now, nobody has told their lives from the point of view of the kitchen and the table. 
It s a lively and unpredictable array of women; what they have in common with one another (and us) is a powerful relationship with food. They include Dorothy Wordsworth, whose food story transforms our picture of the life she shared with her famous poet brother; Rosa Lewis, the Edwardian-era Cockney caterer who cooked her way up the social ladder; Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady and rigorous protector of the worst cook in White House history; Eva Braun, Hitler s mistress, who challenges our warm associations of food, family, and table; Barbara Pym, whose witty books upend a host of stereotypes about postwar British cuisine; and Helen Gurley Brown, the editor of Cosmopolitan, whose commitment to having it all meant having almost nothing on the plate except a supersized portion of diet gelatin."

Length: 320 pages (Hardcover)

Expected Publication Date: July 25th 2017 by Viking

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Why I'm Waiting:

I love a good food memoir. I love the way food can connect people. How it can help us remember things that we might otherwise forget. 

Just when you thought you knew all there was to know about cats comes the ultimate—and unexpected—guide to taking your cat into the wild. Here are cats walking on a leash. Cats hiking on a leash. Cats tramping through snow. Cats camping. Cats kayaking, canoeing, even surfing—yes, cats who love water.

When animal writer and active hiker Laura Moss couldn’t find an online resource for hitting the trail with her cat, she created one. AdventureCats.org took off like wildfire, with attention from Wired, the Huffington Post, Outside magazine, BuzzFeed, and much more. Now, the book Adventure Cats—a collection of jaw-dropping photographs, inspiring stories of real-life cats, and all the how-to a cat owner needs—will take readers and their cats well beyond the backyard. Learn how to leash-train a cat. What to do if you encounter wildlife on the trail. Plus, winter safety tips, and how to bring a little bit of the outdoors to an indoor cat.

The stories themselves are catnip for animal lovers, from Nanakuli, the one-eyed cat who hangs ten; to Georgie, a four-year-old gray tabby who lives on a sailboat; to Quandary, who not only insists on hiking with her family but also teaches them a valuable lesson: When you follow your cat’s natural tendency to wander, you experience the outdoors at a slower, richer pace. This book will delight every cat person, regardless of whether their pet is inclined to adventure. (Take the quiz at the beginning of the book to find out!)

Length: 224 pages (Paperback)

Expected Publication Date: May 16th 2017 by Workman Publishing Company

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Why I'm Waiting:

I'm the crazy cat lady who used to tandem walk her dog and cat until the cat started to relish her freedom on the leash and she started escaping the house so I have to try this one.

What are you waiting on?

[Review]* Justice By Another Name by E.C. Hanes

Set against the backdrop of North Carolina’s powerful hog-producing industry, Justice by Another Name tells the story of Paul Reavis’s suspicious workplace death followed a year later by a senseless death of his young son Paulie. Lana Reavis, who believes her husband was murdered and her son the victim of deliberate negligence, enlists the aid of her long-ago boyfriend, Will Moser, who is currently chief deputy of Hogg County and the heir apparent to the local sheriff. As Will’s investigation unfolds, suspicious activities and cover-ups begin to emerge. All evidence points to Oris Martin, the powerful owner of Martin Farms, a huge hog-production enterprise and Hogg County’s largest employer, as the mastermind. Despite political pressure and physical threats to look the other way, Will continues his search for what really happened. Meanwhile, Lana, convinced that Oris will be beyond the reach of justice, devises a plan to avenge her family and destroy everything precious to Oris Martin.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 245 pages (Hardcover)

Series: N/A

Genre: Thriller

Publication Date: March 1st 2017 by RaneCoat Press

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Think a life in the country is quite? Seemingly safe? Have you thought about moving to a backwoods county? Dreamt of sipping sweet tea while sitting on the porch swing breathing in the North Carolinian air? Me too. Except probably not where Will Moser chief deputy is.

There's just something about the politics of a small county that make everything seem so much more dangerous than anything that's happening in the big city. 

While only 245 pages long E.C. Hanes thriller packed a whale of a punch. Hogg County is a little and just like any small town things aren't at all like they seem in a postcards. There's a lot of secrets buried in the dry sunbaked dirt and Will Moser is right smack dab in the middle of a murder investigation involving a conspiracy theory centered around the county's biggest hog farmers and there is nothing he isn't willing to do to get to the bottom of the death he's investigating.  I  found Will Moser to be gruff but tenacious in his pursuit of justice. His uncanny ability to snuff out the clues that the bad guys had left, figuring no one in their podunk little county could be smart enough to put all the pieces. 

Justice By Another Name was one of those thrillers that really does depend on the smallest detail being given at just the right time to piece together the larger picture. While something may see insignificant, or irrelevant to the story a chapter later I'd find out that the author pulled a fast one on me and I'd be left trying to figure out how I'd missed it. 

Even though it was a shorter read it had an immense amount of detail, extremely well written characters and an amazing, creeping, slow building conclusion that came out of no where for me at least. I thought it was just the right amount of country without being overly so and would definitely recommend it to other fans of the small town thriller type reads. If slow building, character driven stories are what does it for you, I suggest giving Justice by Another Name a try and I am really looking forward to seeing if the author is going to stay the course and continue writing similar thrillers. 

Top Ten Tuesday #100

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Top Ten Dead Authors I'd Love To Meet:

I know it sounds a little morbid, but the authors of yesteryear were just so damned interesting. 

1.
 

Jules Verne (February 8th 1828 - March 4th 1909) 

Considered by many (myself included) to be the 'Father of Science Fiction'. He was so ahead of his time you only have to look at his novels Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea or From the Earth to The Moon to see how advanced and ahead of his time he truly was.

2.
 

Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30th 1874 - April 24th 1942)

Where would my youth have been if I didn't have Anne of Green Gables or Emily of New Moon to have kept me company in some of the darkest of times? I can imagine sitting on a porch swing in Green Gables hearing about her life.

3.

A.A. Milne (January 18th 1882 - January 31st 1956)

He created Winnie the Pooh. That alone makes me want to share a cup of coffee with him.

4.
.

Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1st 1875 - March 19th 1950)

As a life long fan of Tarzan (was raised on the films) I'd love to sit down and share a drink with him. Talk about where he got his inspiration. Why did he chose to write about John Carter of Mars. Space travel? Time travel. These were big ideas for his time.

5.
 

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (May 22nd 1859 - July 7th 1932) 

He's given us one of the most brilliant detectives in history. How he created Holmes and how he had him solving crimes was very advanced for his time. He was a brilliant man, and I'd love to pick his brain about his writing.

6.
 

Beatrix Potter (28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943) 

Author and illustrator of The Peter Rabbit series, known for her rich water colour paintings, and preserving lands that now make up most of Lake District National Park in the United Kingdom. I'd love to hear about her life in her words. What was it like as a woman in her time? I'd love to pick her brain over tea.

7.
 

Agatha Christie (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976)

She's still the top selling novelist of all time and she's been dead 41 years. I would love to learn about her writing process. What was it like to be a female mystery writer in a genre so male dominated?

8.
 

Anya Seton (January 23, 1904 – November 8, 1990)

Author of novels such as Katherine, Green Darkness, My Theodosia and Dragonwyck among many others. I first came across her writing back in 2010 when I read Green Darkness. Told in two time lines and very sensual and dark I would love to know more about her as not very much has been written about her. 

9.
 

Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849)

His writings have always moved me and for some reason he's always seemed so sad to me. I know it might not matter to him but I'd love to tell him how his poetry always brought me out of the darkness he seemed to dwell in.

10.
 

Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990)

The man gave us The BFG, Matilda, The Witches and many other tales of wonder with eccentric main characters. He wrote books that I have some of the fondest memories of reading and having had his books read to me. I'd like to thank him for those stories.

[Review] Fatal Option by Chris Beakey

On the coldest night of the year, Stephen Porter is pulled from a restless sleep by a midnight phone call. His 17-year-old daughter Sara is stranded in a blizzard near the top of a mountain beyond their suburban home. She's terrified and unable to stop crying as she begs him to come to her rescue.
Unfortunately Stephen went to bed just an hour before after a night of binge drinking. With his blurred vision and unsteady balance he knows it’s dangerously irresponsible to get behind the wheel. But he heads out into the snowstorm to bring Sara home.
High school teacher Kieran O’Shea is also behind the wheel, searching for his autistic younger brother Aidan, who is wandering aimlessly through the storm on that same mountain. Kieran is also terrified—of the voices in his mind, of the possibility that Aidan will be taken from him, and of the certainty that he will soon be arrested for murdering three women.
In a matter of minutes Stephen will encounter Kieran and drive headlong into a collision that will force him to unlock the secret of his wife’s death, avoid prosecution, and protect his children from violence that hits all too close to home.

Summary & Cover taken from GoodReads.com

Length: 304 pages (Hardcover)

Source: Review Copy from Publisher

Series: N/A

Genre: Thriller

Publication Date: February 21st 2017 by Post Hill Press

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I've been having some personal issues here so I've had to step back from the blog for a couple weeks until things were sorted out, as a result I'm a bit behind in a few reviews so now I'm playing catch up and Fatal Option was the first one on deck.
Chris Beakey had me from page one. I am not kidding. I thought that it might take me a bit of time to get back into the rhythm of reading again but as it turns out all I needed was the right book. Add in the cold rainy day that I spent reading it, it was just what the doctor ordered. What a thing to say about a thriller right?
This was very much a cat and mouse type thriller. We have our protagonist, Stephen. Widower. Drunk. Father. Fool. He's all of these things and more...but there was a grace about him. I found him flawed but a great character and he sure knew how to play the cat and mouse game the "bad guy" tangled him up in and he did it very well. His daughter is the one who sets him on the course of the events in the book on the worst blizzard of the year but I learned very quickly that with this thriller that all is not how it seems.
In Fatal Options, the characters, the events the motivations of each person appeared to be very clear but, I learned as I read on that not all was as it appeared. It reminded me of a tangle of knots. Just as I thought I was finally beginning to understand where the story was going I was flipped, spun around. It was like playing pin the tale on the donkey and I loved it. It was such a surprise to be surprised and a relief. Where I thought the story was going never ended up being what I thought it would.
This was an emotional rollercoaster of a read. I went into this book with my mind made up about certain characters but found by the end of it that I had been led astray by my presumptions. There's a lot of death in this book, sadness, grief and guilt were all such strong feelings I felt on behalf of the characters made me feel as if the emotions themselves were characters in the story made flesh.
This was haunting and heart pounding. Exciting and gut clenching and an all around dark yet fun read for me as a thriller lover. I thought that it was refreshingly well written told with a unique voice and one that I can't wait to hear more from. Chris Beakey left me wanting more and I can't wait to see what this exciting author has next.
I highly recommend thriller fans and fans of heart pounding plot twists to give this book a read as soon as possible. It's not one to be missed.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #138

READ LAST WEEK:

WORLD WAR THREE. The presence of alien life has been revealed to the people of Earth, and all hell has broken loose. A battle rages for control of the planet, between a US-led coalition of nations and a second group secretly controlled by ex-President Francis Carroll. Meanwhile, Earth's only contact with the aliens the brave crew of the Clarke has been kept in the dark about the E.T's intentions and prevented from contacting home. When they discover a massive threat headed straight for earth, all their efforts must turn to convincing the aliens to use their advanced technology to save us."

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The white-hot spy series from the creators of Captain America: The Winter Soldier is back!
Everything Velvet Templeton ever believed about the worst night of her life has turned out to be a lie, and now she's coming back to London, taking the hunt back to the hunters, to find the truth or die trying.
Don't miss the second volume in the adventures of comics' favorite new super-spy!
Collecting: Velvet 6-10

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On the coldest night of the year, Stephen Porter is pulled from a restless sleep by a midnight phone call. His 17-year-old daughter Sara is stranded in a blizzard near the top of a mountain beyond their suburban home. She's terrified and unable to stop crying as she begs him to come to her rescue.

Unfortunately Stephen went to bed just an hour before after a night of binge drinking. With his blurred vision and unsteady balance he knows it’s dangerously irresponsible to get behind the wheel. But he heads out into the snowstorm to bring Sara home.
High school teacher Kieran O’Shea is also behind the wheel, searching for his autistic younger brother Aidan, who is wandering aimlessly through the storm on that same mountain. Kieran is also terrified—of the voices in his mind, of the possibility that Aidan will be taken from him, and of the certainty that he will soon be arrested for murdering three women.
In a matter of minutes Stephen will encounter Kieran and drive headlong into a collision that will force him to unlock the secret of his wife’s death, avoid prosecution, and protect his children from violence that hits all too close to home.

ADD TO GOODREADS

CURRENTLY READING:

The enemy is massing on the borders, a united force for once.
The king, a man of many victories, is in failing health, and his heir is an untested youth.
Uthred, the king's champion, leads his country's forces to war, but his victory is soured by personal tragedy and by the envy of the king's court. So he breaks with the king and takes off for the land of his birth, determined to resist all calls for his return. That is, until one unexpected request...
This is the making of England brought magnificently to life by the master of historical fiction.

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New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into a dangerous and exhilarating world where a deadly, beautiful archangel and his once-mortal consort are caught in a fury of twisted darkness…

One of the most vicious archangels in the world has disappeared. No one knows if Lijuan is dead or has chosen to Sleep the long sleep of an immortal. But with her lands falling into chaos under a rising tide of vampiric bloodlust, a mysterious and ancient order of angels known as the Luminata calls the entire Cadre together to discuss the fate of her territory.
Accompanying her archangelic lover Raphael to the Luminata compound, guild hunter-turned-angel Elena senses that all is not as it seems. Secrets echo from within the stone walls of the compound, and the deeper Elena goes, the uglier the darkness. But neither Raphael nor Elena is ready for the brutal truths hidden within—truths that will change everything Elena thinks she knows about who she is…
Nothing will ever be the same again. 

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UP NEXT:

The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Smash Cut, Flannery, and City Poet delivers the first popular biography of Rumi, the thirteenth-century Persian poet revered by contemporary Western readers.

Ecstatic love poems of Rumi, a Persian poet and Sufi mystic born over eight centuries ago, are beloved by millions of readers in America as well as around the world. He has been compared to Shakespeare for his outpouring of creativity and to Saint Francis of Assisi for his spiritual wisdom. Yet his life has long remained the stuff of legend rather than intimate knowledge.
In this breakthrough biography, Brad Gooch brilliantly brings to life the man and puts a face to the name Rumi, vividly coloring in his time and place—a world as rife with conflict as our own. The map of Rumi’s life stretched over 2,500 miles. Gooch traces this epic journey from Central Asia, where Rumi was born in 1207, traveling with his family, displaced by Mongol terror, to settle in Konya, Turkey. Pivotal was the disruptive appearance of Shams of Tabriz, who taught him to whirl and transformed him from a respectable Muslim preacher into a poet and mystic. Their vital connection as teacher and pupil, friend and beloved, is one of the world’s greatest spiritual love stories. When Shams disappeared, Rumi coped with the pain of separation by composing joyous poems of reunion, both human and divine.
Ambitious, bold, and beautifully written, Rumi’s Secret reveals the unfolding of Rumi’s devotion to a "religion of love," remarkable in his own time and made even more relevant for the twenty-first century by this compelling account. 

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Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.
Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again?
Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. 

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In The Weight of Him Billy Brennan undergoes an unforgettable journey in a startling attempt to resurrect his family and reignite hearts, his own most of all.

At four hundred pounds, Billy can always count on food. From his earliest memories, he has loved food's colors, textures and tastes. The way flavors go off in his mouth. How food keeps his mind still and his bad feelings quiet. Food has always made everything better, until the day Billy's beloved son Michael takes his own life.
Billy determines to make a difference in Michael's memory and undertakes a public weight-loss campaign, to raise money for suicide prevention--his first step in an ambitious plan to save himself, and to save others. However, Billy's dramatic crusade appalls his family, who want to simply try to go on, quietly, privately.
Despite his crushing detractors, Billy gains welcome allies: his community-at-large; a co-worker who lost his father to suicide; a filmmaker with his own dubious agenda; and a secret, miniature kingdom that Billy populates with the sub-quality dolls and soldiers he saves from disposal at the toy factory where he works. But it is only if Billy can confront the truth of the suffering and brokenness within and around him that he and others will be able to realize the recovery they need.
Told against the picturesque yet haunting backdrop of rural, contemporary Ireland, The Weight of Him is a big-hearted novel about loss and reliance that moves from tragedy to recrimination to what can be achieved when we take the stand of our lives.

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WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Waiting on Wednesday #156

Ancient Egypt, 51 B.C. Sisters Arsinoe and Cleopatra face a devastating choice: to allow Rome's army to siphon power from their ailing father, or to take matters--and the dynasty--into their own hands.

It's the dawn of a new era for Egypt as Cleopatra and her brother, Ptolemy, are welcomed to the throne after their father's death. But joint rule breeds its own conflicts: can the Nile be shared? Long overlooked by his father in favor of the beguiling Cleopatra, Ptolemy is determined to prove his ability as both man and king-but, at eleven, he is no match for his elder sister, who's quick to assert her primacy throughout the land.

Their sister Arsinoe is torn between her siblings in one of history's greatest power struggles. As the palace echoes with rumors, scandals and betrayal, Arsinoe's love for her childhood friend Alexander deepens into a forbidden passion that could endanger both their lives. When Cleopatra is forced to flee a rebel uprising, Arsinoe decides she has no choice but to follow her sister into exile.

Yet while Cleopatra gathers an army to retake the crown, Arsinoe begins to doubt whether her sister is the champion Egypt needs. Faced with the choice of betraying her family or her country, Arsinoe will determine a kingdom's fate and the course of history.

Length: 432 pages (Hardcover)

Expected Publication Date: April 4th 2017 by Little, Brown and Company

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Why I'm Waiting:

I haven't read the first book in this series yet, but it is coming up on my TBR pile and I have one of those feelings where I know I'm going to enjoy the book so I can't wait to read this one. Cleopatra, Ptolemy. You had me at hello.

A mysterious keepsake, a murdered bride, a legacy of secrets...

One balmy June evening in 1881, Phoebe Stanbury stands before the guests at her engagement party: this is her moment, when she will join the renowned Raycraft family and ascend to polite society.

As she takes her fiancé's hand, a stranger holding a knife steps forward and ends the poor girl's life. Amid the chaos, he turns to her aristocratic groom and mouths: 'I promised I would save you.'

The following morning, just a few miles away, timid young legal clerk William Lamb meets a reclusive client. He finds the old man terrified and in desperate need of aid: William must keep safe a small casket of yellowing papers, and deliver an enigmatic message: The Finder knows.With its labyrinth of unfolding secrets, Claire Evans' riveting debut will be adored by fans of Kate Mosse, Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Jessie Burton.
Length: 448 pages (Hardcover)
Expected Publication Date: April 6th 2017 by Sphere
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Why I'm Waiting:
This one just seems to have such a complex emotionally wrought story between it's cover that I can't help but be curious about it. It sounds like one that will have me put my thinking cap on as well.

What Are You Waiting On?

Top Ten Tuesday #99

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. 

The Top 10 Books I've Read In One Sitting:

 1

.The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I've read all of them in one sitting (many times over).

2. 

The Saxon Stories Book 5: Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell. I read this one last week in a single sitting in preparation of the newest season of the Netflix adaptation of this series (The Last Kingdom) premiering. Excellent historical fiction!

3.

 Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry. I loved the couple in this one and I am NOT one for YA romances but this one got me and I devoured it.

4. 

Amazonia by James Rollins. I love all of his books though this is my favourite by him. Rip roaring adventure in the amazon with fantastical creatures? Sign me up.

5. 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. I remember starting this one around 10 P.M. and  was finished it in 4 hours. Absolutely loved this one. Unfortunately the rest of the series was a let down for me but this was amazing.

6. 

Angel's Blood (Guild Hunter #1) by Nalini Singh I remember reading this one for a read-a-thon like 5 years ago and I loved it. I've been reading the series ever since. Want a kick ass heroine? Check this series out.

7.

Seven Years to Sin by Sylvia Day I love Sylvia Day's romances in general but this one was special. Loved the characters and how unconventional their relationship was. If you like steamy reads check this one out.

8.

The Secret History A Novel of Empress Theodora by Stephanie Thornton she writes about strong women in history and I LOVE HER BOOKS. I read this one on a rainy day whilst on summer vacation and was done by supper. She truly brings history to life.

9.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin while I didn't read it in one sitting the first time I read it I have read it twice since then both on cold winter days starting in the early morning and finishing by bed time.

10. 

His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire #1) by Naomi Novik set in an alternate history of our world the victorians have access to dragons for full scale aerial assults and to wage war and THEY TALK to their crew. Love this book, and series in general. Highly recommended.