Wednesday, February 26, 2020

What Are You Reading? ~ Feb. 26, 2020

* * Post contains affiliate links. * *


What are you Reading?  Let me know what your current read is, what you recently finished reading, and what you plan on reading next!

Happy Wednesday, my friends! I hope you've had a great week! I've been pretty busy, but I still found time to read! Yay!  

Current Read



I'm currently reading Daisy Jones & the Six* by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It's written like an interview, as the members of the band and Daisy recall the past. I love the time period. Everyone seems so free, but that freedom can be a little destructive too.  Drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll! 





Recently Finished



I finished re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* by J.K. Rowlings.  Again, I loved it! :)








I also re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows* by J.K. Rowlings. I couldn't help it. I had to finish the series. It's so good!! Now, I'm sad it's over. Haha!







What's next? 


I'm thinking about something Austenesque, like Letters From the Heart* by Kay Bea. I've heard good things about this one! 








*Disclaimer: Links to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!


How about you? What have you been reading? Let me know in the comments! Thanks!

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

"1932: Pride and Prejudice Revisited" Blog Tour by Karen M. Cox ~ Excerpt & #Giveaway!

Hello, my friends! As some of you might know, Karen Cox has been re-releasing a couple of her older books. Today, we are looking at her book, 1932: Pride and Prejudice Revisited.  Below is an excerpt from the book and be sure to enter the giveaway! Details are at the bottom of the page!




Thanks for letting me drop in at So Little Time... today! 

I’ve been celebrating the release of the tenth-anniversary edition of my debut novel, 1932: Pride and Prejudice Revisited this month. The second edition has additional scenes, but today, I thought I’d post a short scene that I kept—and how could I not keep it? Mr. Darcy sings a few lines of Cole Porter’s Night and Day to our heroine…




Excerpt

     He stopped, holding the bottle in mid-air. “Listen.” He walked over to the radio and turned the volume up a little. Elizabeth heard the strains of Night and Day coming through the speaker. The music had a thin, tinny sound compared to the band’s live rendition at the Nashville jazz club. 
     William took the glass from her and pulled her up into a dancing embrace. He clasped her hand gently and moved her in small smooth steps. She was a little light-headed from the whiskey—just enough to let him guide her effortlessly around the parlor floor. His cheek rested against her hair, and she felt his warm, bourbon infused breath in her ear as he sang the words in a soft baritone.
     Elizabeth felt warm and tingly all over. She tried to pull away—a half-hearted move at best—but he only flattened his hand against her lower back and drew her closer.  
     There was a brilliant lightning flash, and the lights flickered once, twice and went out, surrounding them with a close, intimate darkness. William had stopped dancing when the music and lights went off, but still he held her, waiting. He pulled back as if to look at her, and his low, smooth voice sang the rest of the line, the lazy sound of it slowly covering her—like sugar cane molasses running down a bottle.
     The room was silent, and his mouth was coming closer to her, closer, closer. Then his lips were on hers—not tentative like he usually kissed her, as if she were made of glass—but confident and sure. Her hand slid from his, and she wrapped it around his neck, feeling the silky waves of his hair between her fingers. His lips slid over hers, drawing her lower lip between them. She gasped and he proceeded to plunder her mouth in rhythmic, devouring kisses. 
     Elizabeth had never imagined kissing could be like this. His kisses made her feel the way some of her dreams did—wanting something, just something—and then she always woke up gulping air, her skin on fire. She made a weak noise in the back of her throat and he broke away, resting his forehead against hers. 
     Breathless, she whispered, “William, the lights.”  
     “Will probably be off until tomorrow.” He led her to a cabinet by the stair, where he reached into a drawer and drew out a candle, a candle stick holder, and a book of matches. He struck the match, and it hissed—the smell of sulfur wafting through the air. A warm light threw shadows about the room and gave her husband a mysterious, intriguing appearance as he backed toward the stair, pulling her gently by the hand.
     “Come.” His husky voice seemed to emanate from all around her.


*****


It almost seems too suave for our Mr. Darcy, doesn’t it? But, trust me, in the story of 1932 he’s been working up to this for a while now :)  







1932: Pride and Prejudice Revisited
by Karen M Cox


Book Description: 

 “…do anything rather than marry without affection.” —Pride and Prejudice 

During the upheaval of the Great Depression, Elizabeth Bennet’s life is torn asunder. Her family’s relocation from the bustle of the big city to a quiet family farm has changed her future, and now, she must build a new life in rural Meryton, Kentucky. 

William Darcy suffered family turmoil of his own, but he has settled into a peaceful life at Pemberley, the largest farm in the county. Single, rich, and seemingly content, he remains aloof—immune to any woman’s charms. 

Until Elizabeth Bennet moves to town. 

As Darcy begins to yearn for something he knows is missing, Elizabeth’s circumstances become more dire. Can the two put aside their pride and prejudices long enough to find their way to each other? 

1932, Karen M Cox’s award-winning debut novel, is a matchless variation on Jane Austen’s classic tale. 

Winner of the Bronze Independent Publishers Book Award in Romance, 2011

Buy: Amazon
Add to Goodreads 

FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!

Praise for 1932:

“…1932 is a truly fresh take on this timeless tale.” -Bustle.com


“...one of my favourite Pride & Prejudice inspired novels.” - Babblings of a Bookworm


About the Author


Karen M Cox is an award-winning author of five novels accented with history and romance, a novella, and several short stories.

Karen was born in Everett WA, the daughter of a United States Air Force Officer. She had a nomadic childhood, with stints in North Dakota, Tennessee, and New York State before settling in her family’s home state of Kentucky at age eleven. She lives in a quiet town with her husband and works as a pediatric speech pathologist.

If you would like periodic bits of authorly goodness delivered to your inbox, be sure to get Karen’s News and Muse Letter. Updates, sales, book recommendations, etc. are yours for the asking. 





Connect with Karen M Cox



Blog Tour Schedule

Feb 25 So Little Time... You're here! 


* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

It's giveaway time! To celebrate the 10th-anniversary edition of 1932, Karen is giving away a signed copy of the book and some Jane Austen swag: fun notecards from The Quill Ink, What Would Jane Do? book of quotes, and Austen coffee mug (if US winner
or 
an ebook copy of the book and 25$ Amazon Gift Card (if International Winner - cause #shipping :) 




To enter the giveaway click on this KingSumo link

Good luck! 

Thank you, Karen, for being a guest here at So Little Time..., and congratulations on the re-release of your book, 1932! I loved it the first time I read it many years ago! I still have that original copy!

So, friends, what did you think? Wasn't that a lovely and romantic excerpt! Don't forget to click on the link above to go to the giveaway!  

Monday, February 24, 2020

Sanditon by Jane Austen & Kate Riordan ~ My Review

Hello, my friends! Are you watching the Sanditon series on Masterpiece PBS?! Are you enjoying it? I've watched a few episodes, but I wanted to get my review of the book posted first.





Sanditon
Based on Andrew Davis' TV adaptation of Jane Austen's unfinished novel.
by Jane Austen & Kate Riordan

Publication Date: December 10, 2019
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 400
Received: From the publisher.
Rating: 4 stars.

In the vein of Downton Abbey, Jane Austen's beloved but unfinished masterpiece-often considered her most modern and exciting novel-gets a spectacular second act in this tie-in to a major new limited television series. 

Written only months before Austen's death in 1817, Sanditon tells the story of the joyously impulsive, spirited and unconventional Charlotte Heywood and her spiky relationship with the humorous, charming (and slightly wild!) Sidney Parker. When a chance accident transports her from her rural hometown of Willingden to the would-be coastal resort of the eponymous title, it exposes Charlotte to the intrigues and dalliances of a seaside town on the make, and the characters whose fortunes depend on its commercial success. The twists and turns of the plot, which takes viewers from the West Indies to the rotting alleys of London, exposes the hidden agendas of each character and sees Charlotte discover herself... and ultimately find love.


My Review

Jane Austen started writing Sanditon shortly before her death, and the story was never completed. Andrew Davies wrote an adaptation for British television, and Kate Riodan wrote this book, Sanditon, based on Andrew Davies' version.

Having read Austen's work, I had formed my own thoughts on what would happen in the story. (Jane only got as far as to introduce the town and the characters.) And this story was going along differently than the way I thought Jane’s would go. Sure, I thought the people in Sanditon were full of self-interest, but they didn’t seem as outwardly cruel. So I was having a bit of a hard time at first, but once I let that go, the story started moving for me, and I began to enjoy it!

And there is much to enjoy! There is an assortment of characters - some are charming, some are deceitful scoundrels, and some are downright cruel. There’s scandal, near financial ruin, and outlandish behavior. Sanditon has it all!

Of course, I loved Charlotte! She seemed to be the only one with a good head on her shoulders. Sidney started out very self-absorbed, but his hardshell started to crack with the help of Charlotte.  Mr. and Mrs. Tom Parker are charming! And I thought the hypochondriacs, Diana and Arthur Parker (brother and sister) were very amusing! 

My thoughts on the ending… I wasn’t satisfied with it. I would assume they have plans on continuing the series. But I have not heard anything for sure. But if they wanted to hook you into watching the second season, or reading the next book, then they did an excellent job with the ending! 

Altogether, Sanditon was an entertaining read! I enjoyed it, and I hope to see it continued!  - 4 stars

Buy: AmazonB&N • Book DepositoryIndiebound
Add to Goodreads

FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!



About the Author

Kate Riordan is a writer and journalist from England. Her first job was as an editorial assistant at the Guardian newspaper, followed by a stint as deputy editor for the lifestyle section of London bible, Time Out magazine. There she had assignments that saw her racing reindeers in Lapland, going undercover in London's premier department store and gleaning writing tips (none-too-subtly) during interviews with some of her favorite authors. After becoming a freelancer, she left London behind and moved to the beautiful Cotswolds in order to write her first novel.

To read more reviews for Sanditon, check out the schedule below!


SANDITON REVIEW ROUNDUP SCHEDULE:

January 14 History Lizzie
January 20 Living Read Girl
February 03 The Lit Bitch
February 10 Unabridged Chick
February 10 Laura’s Reviews
February 13 Bookfoolery
February 18 Impressions in Ink
February 24 So Little Time…  You're here! 
February 24 Vesper’s Place
February 26 Austenesque Reviews


Many thanks to Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose for organizing this Review Roundup Blog Tour and for having me along!

Also a huge thanks to Grand Central Publishing for my paperback copy of Sanditon and for the beautiful copy of The World of Sanditon! Wow! Thank you!!





So, friends, what do you think? Have you read the book or watching the series? Let me know in the comments! 

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Winner of Maggie Mooha's Books!

Hello, my friends! I'm thrilled to announce the winner of Maggie Mooha's giveaway! The winner will receive an e-copy of both books, Elizabeth in the New World and The Darcys of New Orleans

Many thanks to Maggie for giving away both books in the series. And, again, congratulations on the release of her new novel, The Darcys of New Orleans. If you didn't read Maggie's guest post you can do that here. It was very interesting.


Without further ado, the winner is:

BWhite!




Book 2
Buy: Amazon (paid link)
Add to Goodreads


Book 1
Buy: Amazon (paid link)
Add to Goodreads

FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!

Thanks again to all who entered!

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

What Are You Reading? ~ Feb. 19, 2020

* * Post contains affiliate links. * *


What are you Reading?  Let me know what your current read is, what you recently finished reading, and what you plan on reading next! 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I hope you've had a great week! 

Current Read


I'm currently re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* by J.K. Rowling. I'm about halfway through and loving it again! :)







I also read through chapter 10 in The Jane Austen Project* by Kathleen A. Flynn for my JASNA reading group that met last Saturday. I think I'm enjoying it more on this second read! And all the ladies and gentleman in the group are loving it too! 





Recently Finished



I recently finished Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix* by J.K. Rowlings. Again, I love this series!







What's next? 



I think I'm going to read Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It looks so good to me! I've been looking forward to reading it. 






*Disclaimer: Links to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!

How about you? What have you been reading? Let me know in the comments! Thanks!

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin ~ My Review

Happy Release Day! Congratulations to Hannah Capin on the publication of Foul is Fair


Foul is Fair
by Hannah Capin

Publication Date: February 18th, 2020
Publisher:  Wednesday Books
Pages: 336 - Kindle Edition
Received: From the publisher via NetGalley
Rating: 3.5 stars


Hannah Capin’s Foul is Fair is a bloody, thrilling revenge fantasy for the girls who have had enough. Golden boys beware: something wicked this way comes.

Jade and her friends Jenny, Mads, and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of. Every party is theirs and the world is at their feet. Until the night of Jade’s sweet sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Jade as their next target.

They picked the wrong girl.

Sworn to vengeance, Jade transfers to St. Andrew’s Prep. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one. She’ll take their power, their lives, and their control of the prep school’s hierarchy. And she and her coven have the perfect way in: a boy named Mack, whose ambition could turn deadly.

My Review

Foul is Fair is a modern retelling of Macbeth with a Mean Girls vibe going on - popular girls and boys with their King, Queen, and court, ruling the school. It’s dark and gritty, and the writing has a poetic and magical feel at times. But mainly, it’s a story about REVENGE. 

Elle and her friends, Jenny, Summer, and Mads (her coven), go to a party on Ellie’s 16th birthday. This is not their regular hang out. No, they crash a party hosted by the captain of the Lacrosse team from St. Andrews Prep Academy. There, Elle is drugged and raped. But instead of falling apart, Elle wants revenge. 

She changes her name to Jade, and transfers to St. Andrews.

Thankfully, Foul is Fair is not graphic. You don’t experience the rape. Only the fuzzy traces Jade remembers - the color of the room, who was there, bits of what was said. There are other sensitive topics, such as suicide and murder. The murder scenes can be a little bloody.

I loved Jade. She is strong, bold, and brazen. Taking on the popular kids, never flinching. All the while, Jade and her coven were stellar - plotting their revenge. You couldn’t have better friends. 

What I wasn’t too fond of was the writing style. It was choppy and repetitive at times. 

Overall, after I stopped feeling sorry for Mack, I enjoyed the story! Although, I wish I had had a better understanding of Macbeth before I read Foul is Fair.  - 3.5 stars


Buy: Amazon • B&N 
Add to Goodreads

FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!



About the Author



Hannah Capin is the author of Foul is Fair and The Dead Queens Club, a feminist retelling of the wives of Henry VIII. When she isn’t writing, she can be found singing, sailing, or pulling marathon gossip sessions with her girl squad. She lives in Tidewater, Virginia.


Connect with Hannah on Twitter and Instagram!






Many thanks to Wednesday Books for giving me an e-copy of Fair is Foul!  

You can read the excerpt I posted as part of the Foul is Fair Blog Tour here.

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Foul is Fair Blog Tour ~ Excerpt

Hello, my friends! Are you ready for something different? Foul is Fair by Hanna Capin is a modern Macbeth retelling. As a Young Adult novel, it has something like a Mean Girls vibe to it. I've read it and hope to have a review up soon. 

As part of the Foul is Fair Blog Tour, I have a little excerpt for you to enjoy! (Warning: foul language is present in the excerpt)






For every girl who wants revenge



The primary thematic material of Foul is Fair centers on sexual assault (not depicted), rape culture, and violence. Additionally, the book includes an abusive relationship, a suicide attempt, and a brief scene with transphobic bullying. For a more detailed description of sensitive content, please visit hannahcapin.com/foulisfair.


FOUL IS FAIR






THAT NIGHT

Sweet sixteen is when the claws come out.
     We’re all flash tonight. Jenny and Summer and Mads and

me. Vodka and heels we could never quite walk in before, but tonight we can. Short skirts—the shortest. Glitter and high- light. Matte and shine. Long hair and whitest-white teeth.
     I’ve never been blond before but tonight my hair is platinum. Mads bleached it too fast but I don’t care because tonight’s the only night that matters. And my eyes are jade-green tonight instead of brown, and Summer swears the contacts Jenny bought are going to melt into my eyes and I’ll never see again, but I don’t care about that, either.
     Tonight I’m sixteen.
     Tonight Jenny and Summer and Mads and me, we’re four sirens, like the ones in those stories. The ones who sing and make men die.
Tonight we’re walking up the driveway to our best party ever. Not the parties like we always go to, with the dull-duller-dullest Hancock Park girls we’ve always known and the dull-duller-dullest wine coolers we always drink and the same bad choice in boys.
     Tonight we’re going to a St Andrew’s Prep party. 
     Crashing it, technically.
     But nobody turns away girls like us.
     We smile at the door. They let us in. Our teeth flash. Our

claws glimmer. Mads laughs so shrill-bright it’s almost a scream. Everyone looks. We all grab hands and laugh together and then everyone, every charmed St Andrew’s Prepper is cheering for us and I know they see it—
     for just a second—
     —our fangs and our claws.





AFTER

The first thing I do is cut my hair.
     But it isn’t like in the movies, those crying girls with mascara streaks and kindergarten safety scissors, pink and dull, looking into toothpaste specks on medicine cabinet mirrors.
     I’m not crying. I don’t fucking cry.
     I wash my makeup off first. I use the remover I stole from Summer, oily Clinique in a clear bottle with a green cap. Three minutes later I’m fresh-faced, wholesome, girl-next-door, and you’d almost never know my lips are still poison when I look the way a good girl is supposed to look instead of like that little whore with the jade-green eyes.
     The contact lenses go straight into the trash.
     Then I take the knife, the good long knife from the wedding silver my sister hid in the attic so she wouldn’t have to think about the stupid man who never deserved her anyway. The marriage was a joke but the knife is perfectly, wickedly beautiful: silver from handle to blade and so sharp you bleed a little just looking at it. No one had ever touched it until I did, and when I opened the box and lifted the knife off the dark red velvet, I could see one slice of my reflection looking back from the blade, and I smiled.
     I pull my hair tight, the long hair that’s been mine since those endless backyard days with Jenny and Summer and Mads. Always black, until Mads bleached it too fast, but splintering platinum blond for the St Andrew’s party on my sweet sixteen. Ghost-bright hair from Mads and jade-green eyes from Jenny and contour from Summer, almost magic, sculpting me into a brand-new girl for a brand-new year.
     My hair is thick, but I’ve never been one to flinch.
     I stare myself straight in the eyes and slash once—
     Hard.
     And that’s it. Short hair.
     I dye it back to black, darker than before, with the cheap

box dye I made Jenny steal from the drugstore. Mads revved her Mustang, crooked across two parking spots at three in the morning, and I said:
     Get me a color that knows what the fuck it’s doing.
     Jenny ran back out barefoot in her baby-pink baby-doll dress and flung herself into the back seat across Summer’s lap, and Mads was out of the lot and onto the road, singing through six red lights, and everything was still slow and foggy and almost like a dream, but when Jenny threw the box onto my knees I could see it diamond-clear. Hard black Cleopatra bangs on the front and the label, spelled out plain: #010112 REVENGESo I said it out loud:
     REVENGE
     And Mads gunned the engine harder and Summer and Jenny shrieked war-cries from the back seat and they grabbed my hand, all three of them, and we clung together so tight I could feel blood under my broken claws.
     REVENGE, they said back to me. REVENGE, REVENGE, REVENGE.
     So in the bathroom, an hour later and alone, I dye my hair revenge-black, and I feel dark wings growing out of my back, and I smile into the mirror at the girl with ink-stained fingers and a silver sword.
     Then I cut my broken nails to the quick.
     Then I go to bed.
     In the morning I put on my darkest lipstick before it’s

even breakfast time, and I go to Nailed It with a coffee so hot it burns my throat. The beautiful old lady with the crooked smile gives me new nails as long as the ones they broke off last night, and stronger.
     She looks at the bruises on my neck and the scratches across my face, but she doesn’t say anything.
     So I point at my hair, and I say, This color. Know what it’s called?
     She shakes her head: No.
     I say, REVENGE.
     She says,
Good girl. Kill him.






Foul is Fair
by Hannah Capin


Hannah Capin's Foul is Fair is a bloody, thrilling revenge fantasy for the girls who have had enough. Golden boys beware: something wicked this way comes.

Jade and her friends Jenny, Mads, and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of. Every party is theirs and the world is at their feet. Until the night of Jade's sweet sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Jade as their next target.

They picked the wrong girl.

Sworn to vengeance, Jade transfers to St. Andrew’s Prep. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one. She'll take their power, their lives, and their control of the prep school's hierarchy. And she and her coven have the perfect way in: a boy named Mack, whose ambition could turn deadly.

Buy: Amazon
Add to Goodreads

FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!


About the Author




Hannah Capin is the author of Foul is Fair and The Dead Queens Club, a feminist retelling of the wives of Henry VIII. When she isn’t writing, she can be found singing, sailing, or pulling marathon gossip sessions with her girl squad. She lives in Tidewater, Virginia.

Connect with Hannah on Twitter and Instagram!



Blurbs:

"Fierce, vicious, and electric. If books had teeth, Foul Is Fair would have fangs. Capin's language glitters dark and her writing cuts deep. Revenge is a dish best served by this deliciously unapologetic coven." - Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of Firsts and Last Girl Lied To

"Capin’s writing will seduce you with its beauty and then, when you least suspect it, slice you to the bone—just like Foul is Fair’s captivating, vicious, entirely unforgettable heroine, Jade." - Layne Fargo, author of Temper and co-host of Unlikeable Female Characters Podcast

“Vicious and beautifully brutal, Foul is Fair gives a sword to every girl who has ever been a victim and makes them a warrior. This book is pulls no punches and will make anyone think twice before uttering the phrase ‘just a girl’. An unapologetic feminist battle-cry that leaves you breathless and thirsting for vengeance.” - Sonia Hartl, author of Have a Little Faith in Me

"Foul is Fair delivers the story of a girl who snatches control back from a world that stole it away, through whatever means necessary. Hannah Capin deftly combines stunningly lyrical prose with the raw power of engulfing fury, sending a message written in blood. In a world where too many are forced into silence, this book roars back." - S. Gonzales, author of The Law of Inertia and Only Mostly Devastated


Many thanks to Wednesday Books for having me on this tour!


Sometime I like to read something different, and Foul is Fair was certainly that. It was gritty, dark, and the writing had a magical feel to it.

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