The Romance Bookie

Hi!  Beauty is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast !  It's a classic tale and I think this is one of the best retellings ever! It's such a good solid one that really follows the original tale.  Anyways, this is a book I read as a child and recently decided to reread! From Goodreads : A strange imprisonment... Beauty has never liked her nickname.  She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones.  But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage. When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will.  Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?" Robin McKinley's beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple, Beauty and the Beast. Erin's Thoughts: Like I said...

Hello Everyone, It really saddens me to do this, but I have made the extremely tough decision on putting The Romance Bookie on Hiatus for a bit. There is too much going on in my life, and I've putting this on hold for way too long at this point.  I have been very busy, and with school, work, and family I just can't handle everything anymore. Yesterday, my family was told some very sad news.  One of our German Shepherds, named BJ, died while he was getting surgery to remove tumors in his spleen.  It turned out the cancer was far more advanced than they had thought, and he passed away while they were operating.  I, along with my family, is absolutely devastated.  Our dogs (we have three German Shepherds) mean the world to us.  They are part of the family, and losing one is like losing a piece of ourselves. He was only eight years old, which even for a big dog like a German Shepherd is not old.  It is by no means, young, but also not old.  So...

Hey Everyone! Finished another book, and just in time for the end of the summer!! Before I continue though, I just wanted to share some super exciting news that I just found out...I have been awarded a Grant for this school year and a $1000 scholarship!! Not only will this semester be COMPLETELY covered but also NEXT SEMESTER, so that means MY ENTIRE SCHOOL year is taken care of!!!!!!!!!! :) I cannot even tell you how much of a relief that is!!!!!!  I am so excited!!  This will be my first year at a university (I am transferring from a community college), so it's a bit nerve wracking, but also exciting to be one step closer to my bachelors! Anyway, time for the review! :) I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING BOOK FOR REVIEW FROM THE PUBLISHER!  So thank you Poppy for the opportunity! And thank you Pasadena YA Fest for hosting the event where Poppy had donated these copies to! :) From Goodreads : On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only ha...

Hi Everyone!! I've got a review today of a book I'm super excited about!! The Bone Season  by Samantha Shannon! As you may know, I met Samantha Shannon earlier this year when she was on tour for her new book, The Mime Order , the sequel to The Bone Season.   This was definitely a book I was really looking forward to and I am happy to report I was not disappointed!! Here's my full review below!! :D From Goodreads : The year is 2059.  Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man name Jaxon Hall.  Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people's minds.  For Paige is a dream walker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing. It is raining the day her life changes forever.  Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford - a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly ...

Hey Everyone!!! Finally finished another book this summer! It's been a bit of a crazy summer, been working extra hours, and just not getting the free time I've needed to recuperate before school and my other jobs starts in less than two weeks.  I'm freaking out a bit, but I just told myself today, "You are going to lie in bed, and finish reading this book you've been reading for over a month now!" Anyway, I did it!! I FINALLY finished Katie McGarry's latest novel, in a new series, Nowhere But Here ! This is the first book in the Thunder Road Series, and I received an ARC at the Pasadena Loves YA Festival back in June, thanks to the amazing HARLEQUIN!!! So THANK YOU Harlequin for giving out those amazing ARCs at the festival!!! From Goodreads : An unforgettable new series from acclaimed author Katie McGarry about taking risks, opening your heart and ending up in a place you never imagined possible. Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life t...

Hi, Everyone!! Here's a review of Gathering Darkness , the third book in the awesome Falling Kingdoms Series!!! From Goodreads: In Gathering Darkness, book three of the New York Times bestselling Falling Kingdoms series, the stakes have never been higher as three teams push forward on a race to find the Kindred, the four elemental crystals possessing ancient all-powerful magic, first: Prince Magnus has just witnessed torture, death, and miracles during the bloody confrontation that decimated the rebel forces.  Now he must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica.  All Gaius needs now are the Kindred - the four elemental crystals that give godlike powers to their owner.  But the King of Blood is not the only one hunting for this ancient, stories magic... -The KRAESHIANS join the hunt.  Asher and Amara, the royal siblings from the wealthy kingdom across the Silver Sea, charm and manipulate th...

Hey Everyone!! I'm back for another review!!! I'm so excited to share this one with you, because it is of a book that I received only last Friday and devoured over this past weekend! Miranda Kenneally's Jesse's Girl ! From Goodreads: Everyone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke.  So when Maya Henry said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she's get to shadow *the* Jesse Scott, Nashville's teen idol.. But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true.  He's as gorgeous as his music, but seeing all that he's accomplished is just a reminder of everything Maya's lost: her trust, her boyfriend, their band, and any chance to play the music she craves.  Not to mention that Jesse's pushy and opinionated.  He made it on his own, and he thinks Maya's playing back up to other people's dreams.  Does she have what it takes to follow her heart --- and go solo? My Thoughts: I abs...