Month: November 2022

Release Day Blitz: The Red Slippers by Ruth A. Casie

The Red Slippers by Ruth A. Casie Published by Timeless Scribes on November 30th, 2022 Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance Pages: 80 Buy on Amazon Goodreads It would take magic for Cosette to believe in her abilities. It would take Avery to conjure up the spell. Cosette Binet has dreams of being a ballerina. When she learns the Paris Opera Ballet needs additional dancers, she applies. While practicing for her audition, she dances into the arms of the handsome artistic director and dancer, Avery Dubois. The subsequent audition is magical. It is a dream come true. Avery Dubois is enchanted by Cosette and impressed with her talent. He offers her a well-deserved place in the corps de ballet. His keen eye sees a great dancer as well as a woman he could love. Cosette captivates the audiences as she has captivated Avery’s heart. She is chosen to dance more roles but is plagued with doubt. When she has difficulty dancing she is sure she is not good enough for the ballet or for Avery. But Avery believes her doubt is a self-fulling prophecy. While trying to help her, he comes upon a pair of worn red ballet slippers. He gives them […]

Posted November 30, 2022
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Wondrous Words Wednesday – Chortle

Morning you guys! Welcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday. This fun monthly meme is hosted by yours truly and it’s so easy to take part. All you have to do is share any new words (or new to you), you came across during the month and add your name to the linky provided at the end of the post. You can make a link-up post, or just add your new word to our comment section. English is not our first language, so there are plenty of new to us words out there, which might be more common to some of your! If you want more information on WWW, you can click here, or on the WWW graphic in our sidebar. Can you believe it’s the second to last WWW for this year? Definitely time for Christmas and holidays. Let the fun and laughter begin! That’s why we chose our Wondrous Word for today: Daddy calls mid-November to mid-January the silly season and I think that is very apt. People tend to be silly and sometimes downright stupid, but that’s not what we will be discussing today. We are just talking about laughing and giggling and having fun with friends and family. I […]

Posted November 30, 2022
6 Comments

Ten Essentials to build your own Cozy Murder Mystery Kit

Greetings you guys! It’s Tuesday and time for Top Ten Tuesday – the one stability we currently have. Thank you Jana! Today’s prompt is all about cozy reads. If we see the word cozy, we immediately think –murder mystery! My Mommy only started reading cozy mysteries about a year ago and she’s as hooked as a well crocheted blanked. For today, we will tweak the prompt a bit and instead of talking about cozy mysteries, we are going to show you how you can build your very own Cozy Murder Mystery kit. We’ve used a few of these in a Friday Fives post in September last year, so we are just going to add a few more essentials. If you can combine these ten elements and have a good murder in mind, you can write the next best seller! 1. The Female of the species takes center stage Your leading character should most probably be a woman. A retired school teacher, a librarian, the town’s beloved spinster, a receptionist at the doctor’s office. These days women can be whatever they want to be, so figure out that murder and place your female sleuth right in the center. Bonus points if she […]

Posted November 29, 2022
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Wednesday Wisdom – The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak Published by Viking Adult on August 5th, 2021 Genres: Fiction Pages: 368 Format: Paperback Source: Book Club Buy on Amazon Goodreads A rich, magical new book on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal, from the Booker shortlisted author of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he’s searching for lost love. Years later, a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has […]

Posted November 23, 2022
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Top Ten Tuesday – A Few of my Favorite Things

Greetings dear Humans! Today’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is all about Thanksgiving. That time of year where you should give thanks for everything you have in abundance, or even just a bit of. Here in South Africa, we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. This year, however, from a feline’s point of view, I do believe that all of humankind should celebrate Thanksgiving. If you are safe and healthy and all your loved ones too, you should celebrate it. It doesn’t matter what country you are from, or what your religion is. It’s not too difficult to find things to be thankful for. Just think of all your favorite things! Like: 1. Raindrops on roses – We should always be thankful for the rain. No matter where it falls. But it sure does look pretty on roses. 2. Whiskers on kittens – Let’s just be thankful for kittens in general. How dull the world would have been without us. 3. Bright copper kettles – If you have a bright copper kettle, it means you are able to feed yourself, your family and of course all your fury friends. Not everyone is as fortunate. 4. Warm woolen mittens – If you are fortunate enough […]

Posted November 22, 2022
47 Comments

Scattered Legacy: Murder in Southern Italy by Marlene M. Bell

Scattered Legacay by Marlene M Bell Series: Annalisse Series #3 on November 4th, 2021 Genres: Mystery Pages: 296 Format: ARC Source: Lola’s Blog Tours Buy on Amazon Goodreads To outsiders, the relationship between Manhattan antiquities assessor Annalisse Drury and sports car magnate Alec Zavos must look carefree and glamorous. In reality, it’s a love affair regularly punctuated by treasure hunting, action-packed adventure, and the occasional dead body. When Alec schedules an overseas trip to show Annalisse his mother’s birthplace in Bari, Italy, he squeezes in the high-stakes business of divesting his family’s international corporation. But things go terribly wrong as murder makes its familiar reappearance in their lives – and this time it’s Alec’s disgraced former CFO who’s the main suspect. Accompanied by friend and detective Bill Drake, Annalisse and Alec find themselves embroiled in a behind-closed-doors conspiracy that threatens the reputation and legacy of Alec’s late father – linking him to embezzlement, extortion, and the dirty business of the Sicilian Mafia. The search for the truth sends the trio straight into riddles, secrets, and an historic set of rosary beads. Annalisse leads Alec toward a discovery that is unthinkable, and events that will change their futures forever. Scattered Legacy […]

Posted November 21, 2022
4 Comments

The Sunday Post #86

Greetings you guys! How are you? You must miss us terribly… So sorry for our absence here on the regular Sunday catch-up channels, we know it’s been almost a month. I guess I might even have to introduce myself to a few of you! I’m Elza, a fluffy white kitten yes, scratch that. I turned 3 last weekend, so I guess I really can’t count as a kitten anymore. But I am still fluffy and adorably and trying to keep my mommy sane. Yes, in our welcome note there is a mutt as well, you are very welcome to just ignore her. Talking about keeping sane, what’s up with this year? The first 10.5 months flew by in the blink of an eye, and now the last 2 months seem to last a decade. Or are we the only ways that feel that way? Days are long and filled to the brim with things that need to happen. Needless to say, blogging is taking the backseat here. And we hate it. Luckily my Mommy’s holidays are just around the corner, 3 weeks to go. They are going to leave me and the damn mutt here with Hercules and Stinkie and […]

Posted November 20, 2022
20 Comments

Audio Blitz: Ghosts & Gravity

Ghosts & Gravity by Various on November 16th, 2022 Genres: Short Stories Format: Audiobook Source: Caffeinated PR Goodreads New York City, 1972. Between Central Park and the East River sits an apartment building as tall as a castle and as orange as a sunset. The Wellraven barely pricks a skyline so grand, but its curious history reaches out through occupants, young and old. Eleven stories chronicle the life and times of characters who cross paths and share destiny’s fire escape. Ghosts, gravity, romance, and secrets weave the communal narrative. Step into the elevator. Push any button, but try to remember your way back out. Not everybody makes it. Proceeds from this limited edition anthology will benefit VETSports, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing Veterans with continuous opportunities to reintegrate into their communities through sports, community service, events, and partnerships. Stories from authors; Jennifer Locklear, Morgan Locklear, B.T. Urruela, Shani Struthers, Becca Vry, Ai Tran, D.L. Hartman, Susan K. Swords, Kris Babe, and A.S. Orton. Amazon | Audible US | Audible UK Proceeds from this limited edition anthology will benefit VETSports. Narrated by Aaron Shedlock, Amy Deuchler, Amy Landon, Andrea Emmes, Denna Anthony, Hillary Huber, James R. Cheatham, Jocqueline M. Protho, Krys Janae, Lydia Palmer, […]

Posted November 16, 2022
6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday – Favorite “Aww” Moments in Books

Greetings you guys! Time for Top Ten Tuesday! Are we the only ones who don’t get to very much more but TTT lately? I LOVE weekly memes, but I struggle to keep up at the moment. End of the year tiredness is hitting us hard this year. Anyone else feeling the same? This week’s prompt for TTT, is favorite “aww” moments in books. And for a chance, we are sticking to the theme 100%. No quirky headings, no pet-themed books, just following the prompt. I already had to wreck my brain for this one. I guess if I wrecked it a bit more, I might have been able to find 10 “aww” pets or books that are completely “aww”. While browsing through my Goodreads shelves, I just realized that I don’t read a lot of “aww” books…. So some of my choices might rather make you go “huh” than “aww”. “Aww” animals who are simply “aww” and I can’t think of any specific scene: Marcellus from Remarkably Bright Creatures Olivia from The Last House on Needless Street Three-Sixty from Lessons in Chemistry War can have “aww” moments (if you haven’t read any of these, don’t read my “aww” moments, they are spoilers): […]

Posted November 15, 2022
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The Brilliance of Stars by J’nell Ciesielski

The Brilliance of Stars by J’nell Ciesielski Series: Jack & Ivy #1 Published by Thomas Nelson on November 1st, 2022 Genres: Historical Fiction Pages: 400 Format: ARC Source: Author’s Copy, Netgalley Buy on Amazon Goodreads Amid the chaos of the Great War, two master assassins risk it all for love. Washington DC, 1914. Ivy Olwen knows how to survive on the streets without two coins to rub together. But when she finds herself whisked into a secret society that seeks to maintain the balance of good and evil in the world, she can’t believe there’s more to life than just surviving. In the hallowed and historied halls of Talon, she learns European languages and ballroom dancing, as well as demolitions and sharpshooting—in short, everything a spy and assassin will need to survive in the field. The first day Jack Vale meets Ivy, he knows she is not to be underestimated. The second day, he knows his heart will belong to no one else. Between sparring bouts and constellation gazing, Jack takes Ivy under his wing, and the two form a bond that soon turns to love. While the rest of the world tumbles into war, the two embark on an […]

Posted November 12, 2022
6 Comments

Month: November 2022

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