Quotes (#157)

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Morning Swooners!

It back to the grind and after a really crappy sleep schedule and a busy, errand-filed Saturday, I'm not prepared for a long work week. But it is good to be back on the blog and with our weekly quotes. So with that, let's get on with it.

“Close your eyes, real tight, and then count to three hundred. That’s all you have to do. You just count to three hundred, and when you open your eyes, five minutes will have passed. And even if it hurts or things are shitty or you don’t know what to do, you just made it through five whole minutes. And when it feels like you can’t go on, you just close your eyes and do it again. That’s all you need. Just five minutes at a time.” ― Emma Mills, First & Then

“Experience is like evidence. When you're young and don't have much experience yet, you don't have much basis for confidence. All you really have is hope, and that can get shaken pretty easily. But as years go by, you start to gather this evidence. You made it through this or that and you did okay, maybe not perfectly, but okay, so when you stumble, which you will, you can look back and say, 'Well, I survived that, so I can probably survive this.' Or there will be things you're really proud of, evidence of your abilities, and you can look back on those things and say, 'I did it then, I can do it again.' Right now, you're just building up those experiences.” ― Charity Shumway, Ten Girls to Watch

“Most good things come with the risk of something bad.” ― Richelle Mead, Succubus Blues

“Very often the things we most desire come only after much patience and struggle.” ― Richelle Mead, Succubus Blues

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.” ― Alice Walker

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“If there's a single lesson that life teaches us, it's that wishing doesn't make it so.” ― Lev Grossman, The Magicians

That's it for me today. I hope you all have a great week!

Let's Chat Non-Bookish Edition: House of Cards

The husband and I are currently working our way through all the seasons of Grey’s Anatomy and Gilmore Girls on Netflix. But since I’ve been watching Grey’s Anatomy since it first premiered all those years ago and I watched Gilmore Girls live, the husband and I wanted to pick something new to the both us. So we picked House of Cards! And let me tell you, we are hooked! We watched season one in about a day and are already halfway through with season two. We probably would have been further along if we didn’t have visitors from out of town this past weekend and he didn’t have his second job to go to.

We honestly picked it on a whim and now I’m kicking myself for not watching it sooner. For those who haven’t seen the show, Frank Underwood, Kevin Spacey’s character, is one scary, ruthless, and relentless man and I’m scared to see how far this story will take him. As for his wife, Claire Underwood, played by Robin Wright, she is honestly my favorite character. I’m always trying to analyze her thinking and motivations and wondering what she will do next. With Frank, I just let him guide the story and no questions asked. However, with Claire, I want to know her motivations and the way she thinks. And I think it because her story line is not as clear as Frank. We know what Frank wants and that he is going to go for it because this is his show.

This show is definitely worth the hype and if you haven’t picked it up, I really beg you to watch. Just watch one episode and tell me then if you don’t like it because I refuse to believe it. And if you HAVE watched it, OMG don’t’ spoil me but also in a roundabout way tell me how this progresses. Gah! I need to go finish season two already!

Don't forget to comment down below!

Swoony Boy of the Month - Will from the Beautiful Bastard series

Swoony Boy of the Month is our new feature where we spotlight a favorite and/or swoony boy from the books we have read.

To celebrate our return from hiatus, I wanted to bring out one of my favorite book boyfriend, Will Sumner. Will won me over from the other Christina Lauren hotties by being a player who knows when to put himself together for the right girl. He's sweet, nerdy, and loves to pranks on his best buddies. Let's meet Will.

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“See, the problem with boobs is if you have big ones, you can never look thin. You get these burns on your shoulders from bra straps, and your back hurts. And unless you're using them for their intended purpose, they're always in the way."
"In the way of what? My hands, My face? Don't you blaspheme in here." He looked up to the sky. "She didn't mean it, Lord. Promise.”
― Christina Lauren, Beautiful Player

“Ben,” Max said, leaning back in his chair with a giant grin. “It’s finally happened.”
I groaned, resting my head on my hand.
“You got your period?” Bennett asked. “Congratulations.”
“No, you twat,” Max said, laughing. “I’m talking about Will. He’s gone arse over tits for a girl.”
― Christina Lauren, Beautiful Player

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“Hanna, I don't know if I've ever wanted something more than I want you.”
― Christina Lauren, Beautiful Player

“It wasn't just a physical attraction between us. Of course I'd been attracted to women before. But there was something more with Hanna, some chemistry in our blood, something between us that snapped and crackled, that made me always want just a little more than I should take. She offered her friendship, I wanted her body. She offered her body, I wanted to hijack her thoughts. She offered her thoughts, I wanted her heart”
― Christina Lauren, Beautiful Player

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“I’m nervous all of a sudden, and I feel just like you’re mine only for these little bits of time. I guess I don’t like that as much as I thought I would.”
He slid his finger under my chin and tilted my face up so I had to look at him. His mouth pressed against mine, once, before he told me, “I’ll be yours every second if that’s what you want. You just have to tell me.”
― Christina Lauren, Beautiful Player

“There is no way to mess this up,” I said, right against her mouth. “Even if we didn't get married tomorrow, you're the love of my life. I'm with you until we both die, at the same time, when I am one hundred and you are ninety three.”
― Christina Lauren, Beautiful Boss

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“What do you want to do tonight?” she asked.
I shrugged, running my fingers up through the soft tangle of her hair.
“This. Be married. Maybe put on a movie. Order some dinner. Go to bed and fuck for a while.”
“Can I switch up the order of that a little?” she asked, fingers sliding just under the waistband of my boxers.”
― Christina Lauren, Beautiful Boss

“Will laughed and shook his head. “We’re married, Hanna,” he said, and it sounded like he was still marveling at it, too . . .
“Say, I was wondering what you were doing in this tuxedo.” I wrapped his tie around my fist and tugged on it, bringing him closer. “Unless you’re just a really, really snappy dresser. But then, you have this ring on your finger, too . . .”
“I want to be sweet with you,” he said, palm curving over my shoulder and slipping down between my breasts. There was a weight there, a pressure to his touch I could feel even through the thin layers of fabric. Despite the softness in his voice, it screamed of possession, of lust. “I feel like I should be sweet tonight.”
― Christina Lauren, Beautiful Boss

Sa-woonnnsss! Will Sumner everybody!

Review: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Open Road Summer
Author: Emery Lord
Release Date: April 14, 2014
Publisher: Walker Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Jenn

After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking. A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.

3 stars out of 5 stars

Here's the thing, I really want to like Emery Lord's book because I feel like everybody loves her and her books. But when I read When We Collided, it wasn't love at first chapter. I decided to forget about it because it happen sometimes. So I went in with high hopes to fall in love with Open Road Summer. And I did. For certain parts.

For the first few chapters, I was hooked on the story line and on Reagan and Dee's friendship. But then I started to dislike Reagan. She's mean and bitchy and judgmental. I excused it when I first saw a glimpse of her personality and once I learned about her mother abandoning by her dealing with high school bullies. She hates other girls for dressing with low cut tops and flirting over top with boys, all the while she did the same thing. I figured it would be addressed later on and/or she would come around and realized how she was acting. But I didn't see any growth from her. Even towards the end, I didn't feel like there was any character growth. As much as I didn't like When We Collided, Emery did write Vivi in a way that she realized that she screwed and that she needed to fix things. In Open Road Summer, I didn't get that from Reagan.

Aside from my dislike of Reagan, I really enjoyed the friendship she shares with Dee. I love that Emery wrote such strong female friendship and that Dee isn't on the back burner, only to come out to give her friend perspective or be in a filler chapter. I honestly haven't seen such friendship like his since the sisterhood of the traveling pants books. Also, I really loved the music portion of the book. I thought it was really creative and unique.

With this being my second Emery Lord book, and still not falling in love with her work, I have to admit I'm a little hesitant to pick up another of her books. I think I'll give her one more try and if it doesn't work, then that'll have to be it.

Quotes (#156)

Good Morning Friends,
We are BACK! Today we are having a double celebration. Happy Independence Day! Also, we are beyond excited to be back from our hiatus!! *happy dances* We can't wait to share all of the things with you! So, stay tuned because we have some great new content coming soon! Now on to our quotes.

“Once you’ve accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.”
~ George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Every flight begins with a fall.”
~ George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Sleep is good, he said, and books are better.”
~ George R.R. Martin

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”
~George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

“There's no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it.”
~George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

“A woman's life is nine parts mess to one part magic, you'll learn that soon enough...and the parts that look like magic turn out to be the messiest of all.”
~George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

“We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.”
~George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

I hope Y'all have a great day!

Quotes with Some Change

So here's the thing Swooners, Nahomi and I, we love you guys. We love coming on here and sharing our thoughts, be it excitedly, angrily, or indifferent. We love swooning and sharing who our favorite book boyfriend are. We love using our favorite quotes to uplift our moods or to get our point across. We love doing all of that. Right now, though, we have to take some time off. Nahomi is busy studying for a big exam that will hopefully get doors open for her. As for myself, I'm trying to get myself sorted, both in work and personal life.

In my last Let' Chat discussion post, I talked about the pressure of blogging when we didn't feel up for it. Well, it true. We fell in a rut and creatively, we ran out of steam. So we're taking this time to get ourselves sorted and get the ideas and words flowing again. We hope to use this time to read, write, bake, and just do the things that makes us feel good and creative and happy. We hope to take the time to work on the blog so when we return, because we will, we are refreshed and have content set up so we don't have to work on a day by day basis which honestly kills us.

We are planning on returning to you all on July 4th. I know it sounds like it really far away, but when you really think about it, didn't 2016 just start and we're already in May?

In our time away, you can still find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr, I'll leave you with these four quotes that are currently part of my daily motivations.

"Even when you have doubts, take that step. Take chances. Mistakes are never a failure—they can be turned into wisdom." - Cat Cora

"Maybe the hardest part of life is just having the courage to try." - Rachel Hollis, Party Girl

"Bad things happen whether you're scared or not, so you might as well not bother being scared. It's a waste of time." - Louise Rozett, Confessions of an Angry Girl

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." - George Eliot

Let's Chat: Blogging Pressure - When You Just Don't Want to Post

As bloggers, we choose what to put up in our little space on the internet. We choose what and when to post and we look to other blogs for inspiration and ideas. Doing this, gives us purpose to keep our blog updated and flowing with content as often as we can. But what happens when that sense of responsibility, to post something, is actually detrimental to you and your blog. Today, I'm going to be talking about feeling that blogging pressure on when you just don’t want to do anything.

Sometimes, I get inspired to get blog work done and scheduled for weeks in advance. Some other days, I’m barely pressing published on a post when it due to go live in a few seconds. Those days, I'm pulling myself together long enough to get something out there even though the motivation is not there. The inspiration is nowhere to be seen. I have that need to post something but the need is not there to actually work on it. But sometimes, I don’t want to post anything but because the need to remain in people’s mind, pushes me to post something I’m not really happy with. Basically, I’m stuck in a corner with no idea what to do. When these days come around, I either half-ass it and publish anything. Other days, I just let it be but fret the whole day until the next time I need to publish.

I am trying to give myself some flexibility and leeway for when those days come around. Well, I am going to try to give myself the flexibility and leeway for when those days come. I know myself and I’m a kind of control freak, no surprise from my husband here, and having that compulsion to post something will be hard to ignore. However, I feel like having that freedom to not work on the blog or post anything when my mind and heart are not in it will be beneficial in me continuing to blog and in posting something I actually really like and am proud of.

Want to learn some irony? I originally was supposed to publish this discussion in the beginning of April but because I just couldn’t get more than three words on the screen, I gave myself the night off. Coming back to this post weeks later, I realized that taking some time to gather my thoughts actually helped me in giving me a clear idea of what I initially wanted to say. It was also helpful because I don’t want to just publish something I’m not happy with and put my name on it. I’m tired of feeling like I need to post something just to keep up with everyone and every blog. I want to do me and I want to feel good about myself. I’m not the most popular or creative book blogger but I do like what Nahomi and I have done with Books and Swoons and I want to keep it going. So I rather do me and not force myself to be like everyone else and post what I feel like it good work.

How about you? Do you ever get in one of the mood? I know I can’t be the only one. Let’s chat! Comment down below!

Mini Review: The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

The Ruby Circle
(Bloodlines #6)
Author: Richelle Mead
Release Date: February 10, 2015
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: E-book
Source: Personal copy
Review by: Nahomi

Their forbidden romance exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead’s bestselling Bloodlines series.

When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, she and Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world and alter their lives forever.

4 stars out of 5 stars

        It’s bittersweet getting to the end of The Ruby Circle. I’m going to miss the characters, and all of their shenanigans. There is so much happening in this last installment of the Bloodline series; it made my head spin.

       I was glad to see Sydney recovering nicely after the all the trauma from in Silver Shadows. The pacing is a little slow in the beginning although it speeds fairly quickly. I have mixed feelings about everything that happened in this book. I was totally thrown for a loop with who ended up being the villain. I had many theories but I was way off.

      One of my favorite parts is that Sydney finally gets to kick ass. I am happy with her and Adrian’s ending. Although, I’m iffy about certain things that happened at the end, but I don’t want to give any spoilers. I will say though that I ship Eddie and Jill! I wish there was a story about these two! I’d read it in a heartbeat.

     After all was said and done The Ruby Circle was an enjoyable read. It was action packed and quick paced. Richelle Mead did a great job with this series.

Waiting on Wednesday (#154)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Morning swooners!

This week pre-publication "can't wait to read" selection is:

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Expected Release Date: May 17, 2016

Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads

Synopsis:

For some people, silence is a weapon. For Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, it’s a shield. Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime.

Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she’s imagined, there’s one she never dreamed of—that she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day.

It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with the lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory faces a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants, and the truths that need to be heard.

I'm a huge fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout! When I saw that she had a new book coming out I immediately placed it on my TBR pile. I love the cover and the synopsis sounds really interesting.

What are you "Waiting on?"

Quotes (#155)

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Morning Friends,
I had such a busy weekend, that I feel just like Tom today. Here are some quotes to help us start this week off on the right foot.

"I was smiling yesterday, I am smiling today and I will smile tomorrow.Simply because life is too short to cry for anything."
~Santos Salwar, Quote Me Everyday

"Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're there to let you know that something is worth it."
~C. JoyBell C.

"No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow."
~Maya Angelou

"Things end. People leave. And you know what? Life goes on. Besides, if bad things didn't happen, how would you be able to feel the good ones?"
~Elizabeth Scott, Perfect You

"If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative."
~Woody Allen

"If you have a dream, don’t just sit there. Gather courage to believe that you can succeed and leave no stone unturned to make it a reality."
~Roopleen

"True beauty is not related to what color your hair is or what color your eyes are. True beauty is about who you are as a human being, your principles, your moral compass."
~Ellen DeGeneres, Seriously... I'm Kidding

Have a wonderful week!