Author Archives: MBenson

Book Review: Twisted Fate by Jessi Elliott

07 Wednesday Feb 2018

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Author: Jessi Elliott 
Publisher: Jessi Elliott
Series: Twisted #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy (New Adult)
Release Date: February 13, 2018
Rating: 5 Stars

Everything in Aurora Marshall’s life is going smoothly. She’s in her final year of her business degree, she’s on track to graduate, and she has plans for her own business after she graduates. It looks like everything will happen the way she’s planned it to.

One night changes everything when she meets Tristan Westbrook. Dragged into the Fae world, Aurora’s carefully planned out life tilts sideways and she struggles to keep her life as normal as possible while handling the dangers that come with being of interest to the dark fae’s leader and plunged deeper and deeper into all things fae.

I have to say, honestly, I loved this book. The characters were engaging, the world was built beautifully, and while time did pass quickly the author did it in a very organic way. I found myself rooting for Aurora as she faced obstacles, wanting her to come out the other side unscathed. Caring about Aurora and what was going on with her life, and with her family, became second nature and at one point in the book I felt as deeply sad as she was.

Now, lets be clear, I’ve read books where sad things happen before. But I will say, it takes a special kind of talent to get your readers so involved with the characters that they cry with them. Jessi has a beautiful way with words and how she weaves this tale.

The story of the fae, and their world and everything about them interests me with how Jessi made it her own and weaved her own mythos for them. I feel for the fae, for everything they’ve been through even as Aurora gets the raw end of a deal with having to deal with them and move in their world.

The completion of the book left me both satisfied with the ending of the plot within its covers, but also craving the next installment of the series.

Disclaimer: I did receive an arc of the book in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion. All thoughts are my own, and were not colored for receiving the arc.

Synopsis

Being kidnapped by the leader of the fae really puts a dent in your senior year.

Aurora Marshall is sharp, witty, and always has a plan. Ready to finish her business degree and graduate, her life is going smoothly—until the night she meets Tristan Westbrook.

Tristan, the overbearing, gorgeous fae leader, and an admired businessman in the human world, is all kinds of dangerous. While he finds Aurora intriguing, her refusal to bend to his will keeps them locked in a constant power struggle.

Entering into a deal is the only way to escape Tristan’s clutches, which only plunges Aurora deeper into the fae world. With her future at stake, she is forced to handle his arrogance and extraordinary fae abilities as she fights to stay grounded in her mundane life.

Not to mention her struggle to ignore the growing attraction she knows she shouldn’t feel for the man who kidnapped her.

When people said college would be the most exciting time of her life, Aurora never thought this is what they meant.

 

Available February 13th

 

 

About The Author

 

Jessi Elliott is a newly graduated law clerk and debut author of both young adult and new adult romantic fiction. Her love of writing was born after many years of reading and reviewing books on her blog Living Within Fiction.She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her family and two adorable cats.
​
When she’s not plotting her next writing project, she likes to spend her time hanging with friends and family, getting lost in a steamy romance novel, watching Friends, and drinking coffee.You can find Jessi at www.jessielliott.com, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay up to date on book news and upcoming releases.

 

Frozen but Working

06 Tuesday Feb 2018

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The Midwest had a couple days of nice weather. Just a couple. And then it plunged right back down into single digits and dumped a bunch of snow on us too. The above photo is not from after it snowed, but it is from this winter. I have an outdoor mall near me, and they have a fountain that runs all winter to keep the pipes from freezing over. So the top of this fountain, for the most part, is all frozen except for where the jets of water come out. It’s super cool to see.

With the snow has come the one thing I hate with weather shits. Migraines. Sunday I was knocked back for a good chunk of the day with a migraine and I couldn’t do much of anything.

One thing I managed to do was rewrite the beginning of a short I had started that caught my attention. I was proud of myself. I took this bit of story and the three pages I had flourished into six pages after expanding on the detail and reworking everything.

And then in the shower my brain went – but what if we do this, that, and the other.

Needless to say, I’m hoping to get it rewritten for a third time this week. and then hopefully that will be put to bed enough that I can flush it out and finish it. I’m only expecting a 10k short from it. But it’d be nice to get it finished. One more thing off my long list of open WIPs that I can cross off.

How is your WIP going? Do you have one you have as your sole focus? Do you have many with an idea book beside you to jot down any wayward plots that cross your brain? Let me know down in the comments!

Also! Stay tuned tomorrow for my review of Twisted Fate by Jessi Elliott! You’re going to love it!

January Wrap-Up/February TBR

01 Thursday Feb 2018

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So it is that time. When we pass from one month into another. When we say goodbye to January and all it offered us, hug what we learned close to out hearts, and move ever forward into (if you’re in the Midwest) frozen future of February.

Were you able to finish everything you hoped you would in January? Anything left undone that you’re moving to the new month? Personally, I wasn’t able to finish everything I strived to in January, but I am moving some of them forward to try and finish them in February.

Lets reevaluate my goals for 2018 and see how well I did in January.

  • Write/plot 3 times a week

This one, sadly, hasn’t been in full force. I DID  get chapter one of my drafted novel edited though. So we are moving forward. I just need to work a little harder to carve out more writing/plotting time.

  • Read more

This one I most assuredly am doing well at. I was able to slide through five books in January. What are they? Keep reading to find out, I do list them below.

  • Post a Book Review on the blog twice a month

So, this one was half completed. I didn’t get through the plethora of books this month until late in the month. Literally, I consumed three books in three days. Which, being so late in the month, leaves little time to get those reviews up. But. With reading going better, I’m hoping to get a few reviews in the drafted and scheduled folder so as I read I’ll just keep sliding them into the line to be pushed out. And who knows. If I can keep up the reading as I am, I may try to squeeze in a third review a month. But that’s more down the line as I see how the year pans out. I already know a couple months will be a little busier than others due to annual things going on in my life.

So grand overview, I’m not terrible in working to fulfill my goals, but there’s definitely room for improvement. Here’s to February showing some of that improvement.

January Wrap Up

So, wrapping up January, like I said I read five books. That’s three more this month than I had planned, in the grand goal of reading. But it’s actually two short of my January TBR list.

I was able to finish the following books:

  • Shattered Circle by Cassandra Larsen
  • Twisted Fate by Jessi Elliott
  • Paper Princess by Erin Watt
  • Broken Prince by Erin Watt
  • The Selection by Kiera Cass

Broken Prince wasn’t on my January TBR list, but after the way Paper Princess ended I couldn’t stop myself from devouring the second book.

The reviews for Paper Princess&Broken Prince by Erin Watt and Twisted Fate by Jessi Elliott will be up this month. So make sure to watch for those. I’m doing both The Royals books together, because I read both of them in less than 48 hours. That’s not to say they were short books, they just caught my attention that well.

The two books I didn’t get through are:

  • Message of the Crow by Ellen Dugan
  • Resurrection by Tucker Malarkey

For Message of the Crow, I just didn’t get to it before the month ended. If I hadn’t chosen to read Broken Prince this month, I might have had the time to finish it. But alas, I was just too enamored by the The Royals to stop. Though I was able to tear myself away to read The Selection.

Resurrection isn’t a lack of time for not finishing. I did try. I just couldn’t get into the writing and the book. Nothing against it or the author, it just wasn’t my cup of tea so I won’t be finishing the book.

January Book Haul

Because I thought it would be fun too, I figured I’d share all the books I purchased in January. It’s almost a sickness. I read five books, but I ended up purchasing 27 books due to sales on Amazon a lot of times.

  • Rune Service by J.B. Garner
  • Once in a Blue Rune by J.B. Garner
  • Because You Love to Hate Me edited by Ameriie (Anthology)
  • Mojitos & Murder by Sara Bourgeois
  • Pirate’s Vengeance by LJ Andrews
  • Aveline by Lizzy Ford
  • Charred Heart by Lizzy Ford
  • Hinder by Kristin Ping
  • Soul of the Witch by Deanna Chase
  • Gifted by the Moon by Lilith Black
  • Shadow Queen by Harlow Thomas & Anastasia James
  • Spear of Destiny by Ines Johnson
  • The Haunting of Willow House by Anthony M. Strong
  • Blood and Magic by Ilana Waters
  • Marked by Power by Cece Rose & G. Bailey
  • Winter’s Guardian by G. Bailey
  • Sapient Salvation by Jayne Faith
  • Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
  • Queen of Gods by Scarlett Dawn and Katherine Rhodes
  • The Lunar Effect by C.J. Pinard
  • Moon Cursed by Tori Centanni
  • Daughter of Magic by Teresa Roman
  • Stolen Ink by Holly Evans
  • Broken Prince by Erin Watt
  • Twisted Palace by Erin Watt
  • Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

I also started an Owl Crate subscription, and their January Fearsome Fairytales box so I received a special cover book:

  • The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

It’s a super long list of books. It’s an addiction, really. Most of those, at least, are ebook so at least they’re not taking up floor space because my shelves are full.

February TBR

Just like January, I’m going to be ambitious for February. Now, I realize this month is shorter than any other month but after the amount I was able to read in January, and looking at most of my calendar for February and finding it relatively absent of anything but writing goals, I have faith in myself to find the time to read these books.

I am looking to finish:

  • Message of the Crow by Ellen Dugan

My not getting to it in January is by no means because I wasn’t interested in it, but merely because I wanted to read something different. Paper Princess and The Selection are both more Contemporary than I normally read. There’s no magic, there’s no wizard or spell or werewolf or vampire. And while i do love my urban fantasy, and high fantasy, and I always will, it was kind of nice to step out of that box for a little while.

I’m also looking to read:

  • A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest
  • Daughter of Magic by Teresa Roman
  • Twisted Palace by Erin Watt
  • The Elite by Kiera Cass
  • Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Six books. And if you’re reading this carefully you’ll recognize two author from January. Twisted Palace is The Royals book three, and closes the sage for the characters that make up the first two books. So I’m really looking forward to seeing how their story ends. There is a book four, and a book five that’s pending release, that I may pick up later because I am interested in that world, but it’s narrated by a different person in that world so I won’t feel as compelled to continue it immediately. The Elite is book two of The Selection Series, and I’m curious but ready to jump into America’s story as she moves forward in the Selection. Both of those worlds, while there is no magic involved, have captured my undivided attention. But I’m excited to get through all five of my books.

Did you get any amazing books in January? What are your reading plans for February? Let me know down in the comments!

Time – I know not how

29 Monday Jan 2018

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Sometimes I really don’t know how time flies in my life. I look around and the day is gone, or the week is gone. Take last week as an example. I’m not sure how, but I completely phased through last week and I’m not sure how.

Or I guess to a point maybe I do. A good chunk of the first part was spent editing Chapter 1 of my drafted novel. I’ve been wanting to get to editing it, get to plotting book 2 for the series, and get everything moving along. And I sat down last week and I worked my way through Chapter 1.

Unfortunately I got tangled up enough in my words that I missed getting a blog post out last week. But fear not! I have not forgotten you, my dear readers! This week I’ll have two posts up. Today’s update of how things are going – great, I got Chapter 1 edited! I’ll also be doing a January Wrap-Up/February TBR post on the 1st! So thankfully I’ll make up for missing the post last week.

Aside from editing, I have been video gaming, not going to lie. Microsoft and Rare have a new game coming out called Sea of Thieves (March 20 – not sponsored). It’s a pirate game where you sail the seas, hunt for treasure and glory, and defend or attack other pirates as they too hunt for treasure and glory. The Closed Beta is currently in full swing for another couple of days and my friends and I got in so we’ve all been taking advantage of being able to spend some time together on the high seas.

To make it even more enticing, the game really is stunningly beautiful. You have to really, truly learn how to sail your ships from a one/two man boat to the beautiful galleon you can see behind my friend and I in a screenshot our third friend took.

It’s been an incredible time playing it, and I will truly be sad when the Beta closes in the next few days. This is completely and totally how I spent my weekend. Not going to lie.

I also stopped long enough to read a book, and while I have certain books on my January TBR list, I think I’m going to slip past them briefly because the one I read left off in a cliffhanger and I’m dying to know what happens next so I may skip to that book instead and slide my waiting TBR list forward to Feb. We’ll see how fast I can devour the second book. I do have a few more days left in January, after all.

Also, We’re a few days out before we finish with the first month of the new year. Can you believe it’s almost February yet? Can you believe we’ve had a whole 31 days of 2018 yet? Is the year treating you well so far? I’d say it’s treating me pretty well currently. No real complaints here.

Craziness = Life

18 Thursday Jan 2018

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So, life has been a wee bit crazy this week. And apologies for this being posted a few days behind schedule.

I can’t remember if I mentioned I ended up joining a friend in a knit-along for a scarf that’s done very DnD fashion, in that you create a character and deck him or her out in awesome adventure gear, and every week a new installment of the adventure is released and you actually roll to see which chart you’ll end up doing for the different sections of the chapters. It’s been a small process for me to get everything all set up for it. Namely, I bought some nice yarn, didn’t have anything to make my life easy for winding it into a usable ball, and did it by hand. My first attempt took me two days to un-knot. -_-  Thankfully my second attempt in a different color went incredibly smoothly because I had learned. But needless to say, it’s week three of the knit-along and I have one row of the first chart of chapter one done. I’m a wee bit behind.

I will say, with great confidence, that I’ve finished two of the books on my January TBR list. So Reading wise, I have been doing well.

Writing wise, I’ve been trying to plot out a small series of novellas. That part has been slow going, but it’s getting done. I’m hoping to spend a good chunk of my weekend on it in order to hopefully start writing the first one in Feb.

I’m also getting settled in to work on the edits for the first draft of my finished novel. If all goes well, my hope is to get the first two chapters edited by the end of the month. Part of me though, feels like it’s crazy that we’re already more than halfway into our first month of 2018.

As well, I’m trying to follow along on my friend’s 2018 writing challenge. She just posted the third week of this challenge over on her blog this morning, so you should definitely check her out: Follow the clicky Link to Writing Fun! 

How is your first month of 2018 going? Let me know down in the comments!

Twisted Fate by Jessi Elliott Cover Reveal & Giveaway!

09 Tuesday Jan 2018

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Title: Twisted Fate
Series: Twisted #1
Author: Jessi Elliott
Genre: Urban Fantasy (New Adult)
Release Date: February 13, 2018
Cover Design: Okay Creations
Pre order your copy today!
Synopsis

Being kidnapped by the leader of the fae really puts a dent in your senior year.

Aurora Marshall is sharp, witty, and always has a plan. Ready to finish her business degree and graduate, her life is going smoothly—until the night she meets Tristan Westbrook.

Tristan, the overbearing, gorgeous fae leader, and an admired businessman in the human world, is all kinds of dangerous. While he finds Aurora intriguing, her refusal to bend to his will keeps them locked in a constant power struggle.

Entering into a deal is the only way to escape Tristan’s clutches, which only plunges Aurora deeper into the fae world. With her future at stake, she is forced to handle his arrogance and extraordinary fae abilities as she fights to stay grounded in her mundane life.

Not to mention her struggle to ignore the growing attraction she knows she shouldn’t feel for the man who kidnapped her.

When people said college would be the most exciting time of her life, Aurora never thought this is what they meant.

 

About The Author

Jessi Elliott is a newly graduated law clerk and debut author of both young adult and new adult romantic fiction. Her love of writing was born after many years of reading and reviewing books on her blog Living Within Fiction.

She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her family and two adorable cats.
​
When she’s not plotting her next writing project, she likes to spend her time hanging with friends and family, getting lost in a steamy romance novel, watching Friends, and drinking coffee.

You can find Jessi at www.jessielliott.com, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay up to date on book news and upcoming releases.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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I think the cover is absolutely Stunning! Let me know what you think of the cover in the comments below! Will you pre-order the book? Enter the giveaway?

Starting Right – January TBR

08 Monday Jan 2018

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So I wasn’t kidding when I said that I wanted to read more, and make sure to keep the reviews coming on my blog. I said in my resolutions that I wanted to read a minimum of two books a month, for a grand total of 24 for the year. That’s my minimum.

Last year I started the year late with the Good Reads Reading Challenge, so I set myself up for 15 books. Jumping it to 24 isn’t a large increase, in the grand scheme of things. But, I think it’s a good building block. And in 2019, we’ll see how well I did this year and adjust from there again. But I have started a good momentum for reading again and I want to grow it slowly, so I don’t lose sight of the other tasks on my list, or get overwhelmed with one thing on its own.

That being said, my January TBR (To Be Read) list is pretty hefty.

What am I hoping to read this month?

I’m looking to finish a couple books I started in 2017, to start with:

  • Message of the Crow by Ellen Dugan
  • Shattered Circle by Cassandra Larsen

I’m fairly early on in Message of the Crow, but I’m almost 80% done with Shattered Circle, so I think that finishing both will be doable.

I’m also looking to read the following:

  • Twisted Fate by Jessi Elliott (ARC – Watch for the Review in early Feb! And Cover Release tomorrow!)
  • Resurrection by Tucker Malarkey
  • Paper Princess by Erin Watt
  • The Selection by Kiera Cass

Now, if you’re keeping up, that’s 5 books to finish in January. That’s a ton considering I was only originally thinking of doing 2 a month. I had been hoping to finish Shattered Circle before the new year, but life, ya know. But I will finish it soon. Very soon.

Over all, I’m pretty excited for my January TBR.

Do you have a TBR for January? Is it one book or multiple? Let me know down below!

Book Review: Esme Novella Trilogy by Lizzy Ford

03 Wednesday Jan 2018

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Author: Lizzy Ford 
Publisher: Lizzy Ford
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Rating: 3 Stars

Esme is a half angel living in a tiny town with her full angel mother and a zoo. Her home life is warm, loving, and she loves it. However, she’s bullied and alone at school. Everything shifts for her when two strangers come to town and start renting a couple rooms from her mother in their house.

This review is for all three Novellas as a whole, because honestly while the author calls them novellas, they read more like a serial trilogy than three separate novellas. The plot doesn’t resolve itself at any point during the first two, Halloween and Thanksgiving, instead everything builds and builds until the final installment, Christmas. As well, both Halloween and Thanksgiving both end in serious cliffhanger reveals, which push you to pick up the next one. While not a bad way to lead someone to buy and read the next installment, is a little frustrating when called a Novella. I expect some resolution at the end of a novella, even if it’s part of a trilogy for an over arching storyline.

Over all, it did take me a little bit to get into Halloween but I was curious enough that I persisted. About half way in, Halloween hooked me and I consumed the rest of it, and the other two, in record time. The three are fairly quick reads at only roughly 100 pages a piece, so it is easy to pick them up and finish them in a short sitting. The plot is interesting, and I was very curious how it would wrap itself up.

You’re probably asking, but Meri if you liked the plot and enjoyed the books as a whole, why is it only three stars? Well, unfortunately, there were some grammatical errors littered throughout the first two that for me (maybe because I’m a writer myself) pulled me out of the story as my brain paused to fix the error before continuing the story. And while the auto-fixes for my brain were fairly quick it happened enough times that it made it noticeable to me. It’s something that a little more time editing them would have fixed.

As well, there were times that I was incredibly frustrated at the lack of details given. An example, in Thanksgiving Esme wears a dress to the Thanksgiving event at the Community Center of their small town. We’re told that this is something she never does. We’re told that she’s going to wear her boots with it anyway. And we’re told her mother bought the dress for her. But we are never told what the dress looks like, on a hanger or on her. Not the color, not the cut. Is it floor length or tea length? Is it blue or pink? is the neckline sweetheart cut or scoop neck? Does it have a pattern on it?

This may sound like something trivial in the grand scheme, but it wasn’t just the dress that wasn’t described. After reading all three, I still honestly can’t tell you exactly what Esme looks like. I know she mentioned she doesn’t look like her mother, the blonde angel, but that still doesn’t tell me what Esme looks like. And when I’m trying to envision this story playing out in my mind, these details that were missed or skipped over leave shadowed patches in my head and it disconnects me from the book some. Which does make it less enjoyable as a whole.

Would I recommend these books as a read? If you’re looking for a quick, cute, HEA ending read? Completely. They are a good read, and the plot is engaging enough to be worth it.

New Year, New Adventures

02 Tuesday Jan 2018

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So the above phone is from my phone. That’s the weather right now when I get up. It wasn’t terrible to get up at that coldness when I could roll over, burrow into my blankets and do planning from bed or catch up on some of my shows. But now that it’s back to work in the am, it’s really hard to want to leave my bed.

I had hoped to get this post up on Monday, but, well. Family came first. My family always gets together New Years Day to be together, and kind of ring in the new year together. So that’s where I was most of yesterday. It was a good day over all too. I enjoy spending the time together. Unfortunately, it meant that I didn’t get much of anything else done yesterday.

I’ve been keeping a fairly decent momentum here on this blog, which I’m looking to keep going with for 2018. I want to keep posting once a week, on Mondays. (Holidays may cause posting day to be set back a day like this post) But I’m also hoping to potentially draft and schedule my posts for Monday in the future so even Holidays will have the post. =) Goals, ya’ll.

A lot of people make New Year Resolutions at the beginning of the year. I did too. Posting every Monday is one of them. What are the rest? Well.

  • Finish Editing Into the Faerietale
  • Finish Summer Starlight Festival
  • Write/plot 3 times a week
  • Read more
  • Post a Book Review on blog twice a month

Over all, I think it’s a doable list. It’s just planning out time, and making sure I sit down at work. Something that too is doable.

Do you have any resolutions? What is the one you’re planning to work really hard at? Leave it below in the comments!

Happy Holidays!

26 Tuesday Dec 2017

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I hope that you’re having a happy and wonderful Holiday! No matter what you celebrate, this season is a time for family. Make sure to stop for a while and spend the time to enjoy some time with those you love, be they family by blood or family by marriage or chosen family.

This week’s blog is a little light, due to the Holidays. I’ve been celebrating with friends and family since Saturday. Yule, my annual Holiday lunch with my Aunt and Cousin, and Christmas with the family in town.

This week I do have off work, but I’m also taking some time to reflect on how this year went, and what goals I want to have for 2018. Which, honestly, will probably be next week’s blog post, at least some of it. (There’s also massive cleaning that needs to be done when not reflecting and planning)

Keep posted for my plans for 2018! They’re bound to be exciting!