Review of 'Til Death Do Us Part

I can't believe I finished this book in 24 hours!  Wait, yes I can:  I couldn't put it down! 

'Til Death picks up where "Life & Death" left off, after the marriage of Lily and Val.  It's back to business as usual for the newlyweds, as they're thrown into training vampire hunters to take out the Austere.  From there, though, things go crazy.  Lily comes home to find the house thrashed, her husband missing, and her son locked away for safe-keeping.  The rest of the book is an emotional roller coaster ride-- is Val turning Austere, was he killed, did he just run off with some tramp? 

I spent the entire time channeling Lily's feelings-- hurt, rage, heartbreak, relief, denial, hope, and moments of happiness.  As soon as I could settle into a feeling of comfortable acceptance, there was a new surprise thrown at me.  Way to keep a reader on their toes!

A thoroughly enjoyable read, I definitely recommend it!  Now to wait (im)patiently for book three to come out!  I can't wait to see what happens next! 



To purchase 'Til Death Do Us Part:
http://www.amazon.com/Death-Part-Lily-Drake-ebook/dp/B00CHYJRAQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369915125&sr=8-1&keywords=Til+death+t.+michelle+nelson

Mountain Springs House Blog Tour!

Mountain Springs House Publishing is kicking off a blog tour!  From Memorial Day until Labor Day, all interested authors connected to MSHP-- signed, prospective, and anyone in between-- will be hosting and guest posting along each other's blogs!  You can learn more about Mountain Springs House Publishing at www.mountainspringpublishing.com or their facebook group, Mountain Springs Facebook Page.  Be sure to like them for all the latest news of their up and coming titles!  

Now, I'm going to preface all this by saying that I'm a blog tour virgin.  I'm looking forward to seeing where all I end up over the course of the summer, chatting with new people, and maybe even getting the kick in the rear I need to keep up with regular postings!  This entire process is going to be a learning experience for me, so please...be gentle! 

Next week, I will be hosting Kathy Ree, and I will be hosted on Veronica Cronin’s blog.  We will be discussing what has inspired us to write our current books.  I'm excited to see how similar (or different!) our inspirations may be! 

A little bit about me: 

I’m an Army wife, mom to two beautiful girls, and our diva English Bulldog named Duchess.  I’m also a full time student working toward a BA in English Literature from Grand Canyon University, set to graduate in 2015.  For the moment we call Virginia home, but I’m originally from Central Ohio.  In the last 13 years we’ve lived in Germany, Tennessee, Ohio, Hawaii, Texas, and now Virginia.  

I hope to have my first book completed before the year is out, if the stars all align correctly.  From the first time I opened a book, or maybe as soon as I learned how to write, I have wanted to become a writer.  No matter how often I tried to plan something else to do when I grew up, I always came back to writing. 

Tiny tidbit of trivia:  I was a Girl Scout in the same troop as MSHP founder Allison Bruning way back when.  I had earned the Silver and Gold Awards as a Girl Scout, and my oldest daughter is currently working on her Silver Award project with her troop as well.  

Deadly Ever After-- It wasn't that bad!

I made a point of reading Deadly Ever After, the last book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.  I've been waiting anxiously for this release since about last summer, when I managed to devour the rest of the series in about a month.  I'll admit, I was a bad girl and even read some of the rumblings on Amazon and the facebook world about what may have happened, or what did happen.  Since I had to finish Jane before I could start Charlaine, it seemed like the rest of the world got to finish the book before me.  I was positively gobsmacked by the level of hate that I saw spewed at both Ms. Harris and the series. 

Now, let me preface this by saying I'm firmly on Team Eric.  Maybe it has to do with Alexander Skarsgard playing him on True Blood, or maybe it's because I have a weird fascination with all things Viking.  Either way, my heart hurt at the end of Deadlocked when he just up and left.  What the heck was that all about!  So for months now, I've been hoping/praying/daydreaming of Eric coming back and giving this passionate fight to keep Sookie...and he didn't.  It felt kind of like he shrugged his shoulders and said, "oh well, he can have her," and gave up.  Threw in the towel, didn't put any effort into salvaging 4 books' worth of relationship (or more like 12 if you include the back-and-forth banter from book 1!), and just cut his losses.  It felt a little "un-Eric-like" to tuck tail and ride west to Oklahoma like that, but it's not my story to write.

Even still, I didn't think the book was all that bad.  Was I bummed that it didn't go the way I envisioned?  Maybe a little.  But I still had a bit of, "oh, well isn't that interesting, I didn't see that coming...." which, honestly, I like.  I don't always want to read a book where I get what I predict.  Twists and turns are nice!  It may not have had the shock value that other books in the series had given me, but if Ms. Harris is happy with the final product, then that's what matters.  It's her baby, after all. Just read it and enjoy the journey! 

Feeling a little Austen-tacious

Corny title?  Maybe.  But even still, it fits.

I can't believe it has taken me so long to get around to reading anything by Jane Austen.  Seriously, that should be a crime against humanity, or at the very least put my reputation as an English major in jeopardy.  The fact that I waited until I had an assigned reading of "Sense and Sensibility" actually makes me sad.  I should have gotten to this point a lot sooner, and if you haven't read it yet...GO. 

I'll admit that I watched the Ang Lee movie first.  I'm a bit of a fangirl over Alan Rickman, so of course, I absolutely adore Col. Brandon, and would like to beat Kate Winslet's Marianne soundly around the head and shoulder area.  Poor chap, strung along the entire time while watching her getting all moony-eyed over a total cad.  I adore the movie, it has a permanent location on my DVR, and a DVD in our library.  Even still the movie doesn't even come close to describing ever little detail of the book! 

So now I demand that everyone runs out to either see the movie, or read the book, but both would be best!  I love coming across a gem that I have overlooked before.

Brushing off the cobwebs

Well, that didn't go as expected.

I had every intention of keeping up with blogging writing, and school, but I ended up completely buried.  Twelve or more pages between two papers, a midterm in math (Lord, I detest math!), and two finals that I had to take back-to-back in history and literature.  Don't get me wrong, those are my two favorite subjects, but that was a painful experience. 

Now that summer is almost here, I'm giving myself a fresh start.