I'm back!

Hey everyone, I can't believe this blog is still here! Looking over it I am cringing at some of my old thoughts and opinions. I am quite literally a completely different person but, I will leave most of the old content to remind me of how my life has changed in the last 15ish years. 

Long story short, I have been teaching pole dance fitness, hanging with my pack of 3 huskies and my husband. I have recently been bogged down with a lot of health issues and I don't want to run a physical fitness business anymore. 

I plan to take time to read and write more. This blog will contain book reviews and some of my writing projects and personal posts with loads of cute photos of my fur babies. It will pretty much be the same as it was except I am no longer into religion so there won't be a religious or prudish slant to my posts except maybe a little witchy flair from time to time. 

Now that I know how to log in again I have a lot of plans. I didn't realize I had two google accounts and thought this blog was lost forever. This is my last day of taking clients for my business and after I wrap up all the tax related stuff I will focus on writing again.

Currently listening to Betwixt  by Darynda Jones and I am really enjoying it!

Read more...

Mercy Thompson

Why I love, love, love this series!

If there is one character that I absolutely love and try to keep up with it is Mercy Thompson! I have read 8 books and a few short stories and I still can't get enough.  There a few supporting characters that I absolutely love but Mercy is just my go to heroine.

One of the things I love about her is she is a strong woman but not actually fearless. Sometimes heroines seem to have no fear even when they are diving into a situation that could easily end their lives or they never have side effects from all the horrible things that happen to them. To keep a series going you have to eventually start to include the mental stress of being in life threatening situations day in and day out. Patricia Briggs does it well and leaves me still in love with Mercy yet feeling her frustration.

Charlaine Harris also did this in the Sookie Stackhouse novels but I found in the last few books I no longer liked Sookie. I felt like she became a total bitch by the end of the series. I am sure I would be too if all that crap happened to me so yes it is realistic but this is fiction and I kind of wanted her to keep some of what made her Sookie. She was so sweet and kind in the beginning and I felt like it was all gone by the end. I don't read fiction to get the warm fuzzies but I also don't read it to be slapped in the face with reality. It is rather contradictory I know but I think the key for me at least is keeping some parts of what made you love the character in the first place.

If you know very little of the Mercy Thompson series I do have quite a few reviews on this site this link will get you to my Patricia Briggs reviews. Mercy is a mechanic and a coyote who can't seem to stay out of trouble. She grew up with a pack of werewolves but her origins are a mystery for quite some time. She can seamlessly shift from human to coyote while her werewolf family  and friends shift with a great deal of pain. She is naturally curious she finds herself in all kinds of mischief with all kinds of magical creatures.

Then there are the men in her life! Who could not enjoy the crazy and humorous interactions between Mercy and all the men....or should I say beasts lined up for a little bit of Mercy Thompson. I recall at least a Vampire and a more than a few dominant wolves and maybe a fey or two vying for her attention.

If you love a supernatural story with a great fun female lead character the Mercy Thompson series is for you. I tend to love the stories with many supernatural aspects as they keep you on your toes wondering if it is fey magic or vampires or .....something entirely unheard of causing trouble.


My plan when I get some free time is to attempt to separate the books in my head so I can give you a solid review of the books I have actually read and not reviewed but I can't seem to find a copy of some of them so it means they are on my old kindle that no longer works. So I will look into replacing them with a hard copy and maybe re-reading them all as time allows.

Stay tuned for a quick look into the amazing story of Kate Daniels my other favorite series. I hope I never have to choose between Mercy and Kate! I had a hard time choosing which one to talk about first on this blog because they are equal in my book! So different but so much of what I love!

If you have the time please visit my business website and blog as well www.fit-girl.com and as always thanks for reading!

Read more...

Clean Sweep By Ilona Andrews Discussion

So I started reading the new serial fiction  Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews and I have decided I seriously have to set a timer to stop reading if I want to get anything done.

I have only read chapter one part 1&2 thus far but that is only because I really have to complete other things and not get caught up in this amazing story. As I have come to expect from these authors there is never a dull moment.

The opening is just the right amount of mystery and intrigue and of course a bit of violence to get you started. I really love the way we get little bits and pieces of things that are really important but just enough to make you feel the NEED to read on.  Click here to read the first section and then if you wish come back here and we can discuss it in the comments.

I was planning on working on these one post at a time so please keep your discussions limited to the section in this blog post (chapter one part 1&2) so there are no spoilers for those who have not read that far along in the story. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't like and why! I can't wait to hear from you.

Happy reading!

Carrie
Tastefully Simple Independent Consultant
www.tastefullysimple.com/web/csund

Read more...

The Hollows Series by Kim Harrison

I loved this series by Kim Harrison and I fully plan to finish it someday. I have read more books than I have reviewed here. The last few book I read were right in a row and I couldn't remember where one ended and the other began.

I am going to be honest with you though while I enjoyed the first book I did not like Rachel Morgan the main character at all. What drew me into the series was how Rachel grows into a better decision maker and learns to control here crazy impulses without sacrificing her sassy, confident attitude. I had three books when I started the series and I figured I had to finish them so I started the second book and just couldn't put it down. With each book I began to love many of the side characters and love to hate some of the others. I also developed a fondness for Rachel and the predicaments she gets herself into.

With all the fantasy in these books you get a up close an personal look inside the lives of these characters. Kim Harrison does an amazing job creating real world problems related to living in a magical environment. You can't  beat a story with a witch, a pixie, and a vampire in a world where tomatoes brought on a sickness that nearly wiped out the human race revealing the existence  of supernatural beings who were not affectd by the disease.

Check out my review for the first book here.
The rest of the completed book reviews can be found here but you will have to scroll down they are in the order of last read so you will want to read the bottom post first and be careful not to learn too much about books you have not read.

Read more...

Books I highly recommend

Since I have not been here much lately and I don't have time to read like I would like to I am going to give you a quick list of some books I loved reading. These are the books that I am eager to pick up every time a new one comes out weather on not I have the time.

If you have ever been to this blog before you know that I LOVE the Kate Daniels series or for that matter anything written by Ilona Andrews. When I sit down to read something this husband and wife team wrote I end up there until I am done or actually have to get up before the dog has who can hold it for 12+ hours has an accident. You can't go wrong with anything by these guys. There is just about every kind of supernatural creature in these books.

Patricia Briggs is another really good one especially the Mercy Thompson series. Mercy is mechanic that can shift into a coyote and trouble is on her doorstep more often than the mailman. Supernatural creatures abound in this book from shifter's and vampires to witches and fae.

Then off course there is the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charliane Harris. If you have not heard of them they are the books the HBO True Blood series is based on. The books are not much like the series but in my opinion they are much better. I loved most of these books there were a few that were not as good but still great.

If you would like to start a discussion on any of the books I have reviewed in the past let me know I do have time to take a walk down memory land and talk about some of the books I remember reading! Happy reading everyone!

Read more...