Tag: romance

Five Days of Romance: Day 4 – Recipe for the Perfect Date

Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Happy Valentine’s Day my loves, and welcome to another day of Five Days of Romance here on my blog. Today I’m here to give you the recipe for the perfect date. You don’t want to miss this. In only five steps you’ll be sure to have the perfect date by tonight, amazing right? Well I won’t keep you waiting, for all my single people and not so single people. Here is how you get the perfect date in only five steps.

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The first step to fixing the perfect date is to choose who your date is going to be, and yes my friends, the perfect date is of course a book! So be it an old favorite or a new book you’ve had your eyes on for ages. Date night is all about you and a book you would love to read at the moment, nothing more, nothing less. Just pick a book you want to read and ignore all other distractions.

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The second step to a perfect date is deciding where you want to have it. Where will you and your date have the most amazing time together? Now this all depends on the weather, opportunity and circumstance but a few excellent options are listed above. If the air is not chilly and the sun is out, perhaps a picnic outside is the way to go. However, a library or café might be a better option if you want to go out but the weather is not that welcoming. To make it extra cozy, a blanket and pillow fort or a bubble bath might be just the right way to spend your perfect date.

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On your date, the mood is also very important, which leads us to step three. In order to make the perfect date you might need a few mood setters, perhaps a few lit candles, your favorite music or fresh flowers. Anything that will make your evening feel more magical is just what you need for the date. Truly, the sky is the limit. If it helps you relax and enjoy your date, it’s clearly perfect.

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The fourth step to create the perfect date is to bring snacks with you, because what is a date without something to snack on? It sure isn’t perfect. Deciding exactly what to bring will differ depending on where you go, but having something to drink with you is always a smart move. With your date you can eat cupcakes, cookies, cake, chocolate dipped strawberries, a bowl of watermelon or potato chips. Mix and choose however you like, all depending on what you love to snack on when you spend time with your date. Do you prefer it sweet, sour, salty or a mix of them all somehow?

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The last step is choosing what to wear to the date and it’s probably the easiest step out of the five. The clear answer is, wear what you love to wear, so be it nothing at all or your favorite pair of jeans and a top. If the weather allows it, a fluffy dress might also be just what feels right. The best part is that no matter what you wear, I can 100 % guarantee that your date will love it. You look gorgeous just the way you are.

This was Day 4 of Five Days of Romance. Tomorrow we’ll have Anticipated Romance Reads, and you don’t want to miss it. To check out my earlier posts for Five Days of Romance, go here.

These five steps were it for my Recipe for the Perfect Date, what did you think? Will you be following these steps tonight for date night?

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Five Days of Romance: Day 3 – Book Girlfriends

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Welcome to another day of romance, and this time I have some book girlfriends for you. Eight of them to be exact. Honestly, these girls are the best literature have to offer, they are beautiful, strong, vulnerable and you need them on your radar. Trust me on this. Don’t hesitate to get to know them and fall in love with them as much as I have.

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My first book girlfriend today is Jamaican-American Baylee Wright from Infini by Krista & Becca Ritchie. This amazing girl loves to dance, especially to soca music and together with her best friend Luka. Baylee also loves juggling with all her heart, which is done in the Las Vegas circus, and she is truly a star in the show Infini. She’s a born and bred New Yorker, loves grilled cheese sandwiches and deserves the world. When I read Infini I fell in love with her, and have not looked back since.

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My second book girlfriend is Giselle Stewart, often just called Gigi, from Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton. She’s a ballerina in a very competitive world, where the girls are vicious and competition relentless. Gigi is sweet and truly wants to be the best at what she does without any cheating or fighting. She dreams of being the third black ballerina to succeed in the company, and she deserves it so much. You cannot help but love her, and her sunshine personality.

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The third book girlfriend on my list is pansexual Chris Morrison from The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis. This girl is confused about what to do with her life, and when I read about her struggles I cried and then laughed because finally, someone put into words how I feel about my dreams, university and finding the right path in life. Chris loves to read books, works in a bookshop and plays the guitar. She’s totally amazing, could eat all the pizza and I really love her.

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Five Days of Romance: Day 2 – Romantic Book Postcards

Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Welcome to my second day of Five Days of Romance! Today I have romantic and funny bookish postcards to share with you all. Save them, share them, and send them to your friends and loved ones. Just don’t claim them as your own when asked. I had so much fun making these, I love pick up lines and puns and whatnot, which is why this was so much fun. These postcards are perfect in time for Valentine’s Day on Tuesday.

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(inspired by Unicorn Tracks by Julia Ember)

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(inspired by Infini by Krista & Becca Ritchie)

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Five Days of Romance: Day 1 – Romance Book Recommendations

Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Hi fellow readers, and welcome to Five Days of Romance. For five days, including today, I’ll be posting romantic bookish posts in celebration of Valentine’s Day, and this lovely time of romance. I’ll be posting the following posts,

  • Romance Book Recommendations (today, see below)
  • Romantic Book Postcards (Feb 12, 2017)
  • Book Girlfriends (Feb 13, 2017)
  • Recipe for the Perfect Date (Feb 14, 2017)
  • Anticipated Romance Reads (Feb 15, 2017)

Stay tuned the following week, because you don’t want to miss these posts and get that romance on. There is something for everyone!

This first day of Five Days of Romance I have some romance book recommendations for you all. I specifically have 14 books that I’ve read and loved. These books are a mix of Young Adult, New Adult and Adult books, and they all have diverse characters in one way or another.

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These 14 Romance novels are ones that I really love. They all vary a lot in style, age of protagonist and story, but they have all mesmerized me in one way or another. I really recommend them, and they’re perfect in time for Valentine’s Day. A good romance novel is just what you need when love is in the air.

  1. The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen. New Adult, sports, disabled protagonist.
  2. Rumor Has It by Farrah F. Polestico. Young Adult, theater, Filipino main characters.
  3. We Awaken by Calista Lynne. Young Adult, Fantasy, asexual protagonist.
  4. Keeping Her Secret by Sarah Nicolas. Young Adult, camp, bisexual Indian protagonist.
  5. Everything Leads To You by Nina LaCour. Young Adult, Hollywood, gay biracial protagonist.
  6. The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis. New Adult, pansexual protagonist.
  7. The Unforgettables by G.L. Tomas. Young Adult, Haitian-American protagonist.
  8. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkes. Young Adult, forbidden love, Mexican love interest.
  9. Complementary and Acute by Ella Lyons. Young Adult, boarding school, gay protagonist.
  10. Roller Girl by Vanessa North. Adult, sports, trans lesbian protagonist.
  11. More Than Fashion by Elizabeth Briggs. New Adult, reality TV, Korean-American protagonist.
  12. Interim Goddess of Love by Mina V. Esguerra. Young Adult, Fantasy, Filipino main characters.
  13. Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan. Young Adult, gay Persian protagonist.
  14. Prep and Prejudice by Miren B. Flores. Adult, Filipino main characters.

Have you read any of these books, are you excited to read any of them? Do you want to get that romance on with a cozy book?

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ARC Review of Infini by Krista and Becca Ritchie

Olivia Chanel2 Comments
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Infini by Krista and Becca Ritchie

Publication Date: January 31, 2017.

Publisher: Independently published.

Genres: New Adult, Contemporary, and Romance.

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Selling points: Amazing characters, family oriented story and lots of epic circus moments!

Purchase here: Amazon | iBooks

Synopsis: Some love is infinite.

“Don’t have a best friend that’s a girl” — this was the advice from my older cousin. I didn’t take it. Because he followed with, “friends don’t f*ck friends. And you’ll want to f*ck her.”

It was terrible advice.

My cousin should’ve told me that being best friends with Baylee Wright — since she was twelve — would be the best and worst decision of my life.
He should have told me to protect her from what was coming.
He should have told me that when a darkness crawled towards us, there’d be no safety net.

Now I’ve signed back on to the same Vegas acrobatic show as Baylee, working together for the first time in years. And she tells me that she’s having trouble in a certain “area” of her life — because of our past.

“You can help me fix it,” she says.
And then she hands me a list.

Recommended for readers 18+ for mature content. Luka Kotova is introduced in Amour Amour, and Infini takes place in the same acrobatic world. However, it’s not necessary to read Amour Amour prior to Infini.

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Infini by Krista & Becca Ritchie tells the story of Jamaican-American Baylee Wright and Russian-American Luka Kotova and takes you on a captivating and unexpected journey that will sweep you away to the sound of the circus. Infini is nothing like I expected it to be, and everything I needed it to be, and more. It’s beautiful, full of culture, music, raw emotion and battles impossible to overcome. But as they say, the circus is where the impossible becomes possible. This book has a lot more angst than I expected, and with both the bff-to-lovers trope and the forbidden love trope, I’m absolutely certain that this book will move readers just as much as it has me. I was mesmerized from beginning to end, with not a single dull moment in sight. Infini deals with a lot of heavy topics, that are in no way romanticized. It deals with depression, kleptomania, bulimia, and abuse. All of this is mentioned in a detailed trigger warning at the beginning of the book. All of the topics are dealt with in a very respectful manner in the book but should be taken into consideration before reading.

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Cover Reveal for The Paths We Choose by M. Hollis

Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Hi everyone and welcome to the cover reveal for The Paths We Choose by M. Hollis, the standalone sequel to The Melody of You and Me by the same author. The publication date is yet to be announced but this book is one you don’t want to miss. Without further ado, here is the cover for The Paths We Choose…

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The synopsis for The Paths We Choose is the following:

Lily Ferrari enjoys having control over every detail of her life. Ever since she left her parents’ house to gain her freedom, she decided to fully own her autonomy. But an unexpected visit from her little brother may change the path she chooses to follow.

Add to that a casual fling with the bright architect Mayte González, and Lily’s summer is turning out more interesting than she expected. It certainly beats the routine of working extra shifts at Johnson’s Bookstore.
A few weeks before her college life begins, Lily needs to figure out if she’s wrong about the past or if she should continue to protect her heart at all costs.

Sometimes moving forward is only possible if you have the right people by your side.

Add the book on Goodreads.

Author Info

M. Hollis could never decide what to do with her life. From the time she was a child, she has changed her ideas for a career hundreds of times. After writing in hidden notebooks during classes and daydreaming during every spare moment of her day, she decided to fully dedicate herself to her stories. When she isn’t scrolling around her social media accounts or reading lots of femslash fanfiction, you’ll find her crying about female characters and baking cookies.

Twitter | Goodreads

What do you think of the cover? Isn’t it just beautiful? Will you be reading The Paths We Choose when it comes out? 

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Zodiac Recommendations #3 Aries Books

Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Hi everyone, and welcome to my third week of Zodiac Book Recommendations. Every week I’m recommending books for one of the zodiac signs, starting with Aquarius and ending with Capricorn, after chronological order. This week I have three book recommendations for Aries.

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This week we are embracing fire, the element of the Aries, the one that they carry inside of them. Like every other zodiac sign, the Aries have their strengths and weaknesses, and with these qualities in mind I have tried to find suitable book recommendations. I hope that whoever you are, whether you are an Aries yourself or someone who knows an Aries, you’ll enjoy these book recommendations.

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For Aries I’m recommending the books below,

The books I’ve chosen are ones that I think celebrate Aries qualities in one way or another. I hope you’ll love these books, and maybe even find a new favorite. Check out my book recommendations for the other zodiac signs too. Next week I’m doing Taurus, see previous recommendations here.

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Zodiac Recommendations #2 Pisces Books

Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Hi everyone, and welcome to my second week of Zodiac Book Recommendations. Every week I’m recommending books for one of the zodiac signs, starting with Aquarius and ending with Capricorn, after chronological order. This week I have three book recommendations for Pisces.

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We are talking about Pisces this week, the zodiac sign that embraces the element water. The Pisces have their strengths and weaknesses, which can be read about in the graphics, and with these qualities in mind I have tried to find suitable book recommendations. I hope that whoever you are, whether you are a Pisces yourself or someone who knows a Pisces, you’ll enjoy these book recommendations.

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For Pisces, the books I’m recommending are the following,

The books I’ve chosen are ones that I think celebrate Pisces qualities in one way or another. I hope you’ll love these books, and maybe even find a new favorite. Check out my book recommendations for the other zodiac signs too. Next week I’m doing Aries, see previous recommendations here.

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Top Ten Tuesday #7 Eight Underrated Books I’ve Read

Olivia Chanel7 Comments

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. If you want to read more about their blog feature and join the fun, you can do it here.

This week the theme for Top Ten Tuesday is Ten Underrated/Hidden Gem Books I’ve Read In The Past Year Or So and I honestly think it’s the best topic. I mean recommending underrated books is literally the best thing ever. So down below is a list of eight books that I think don’t get enough love, and that should be on everyone’s TBR. I love these books beyond anything, and you all need to get them as soon as possible.

  1. Plastic Wings by C.T Callahan.
  2. Rumor Has It by Farrah F. Polestico
  3. My Year of Epic Rock by Andrea Pyros
  4. salt. by Nayyirah Waheed
  5. Dreaming of Antigone by Robin Bridges
  6. The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
  7. Complementary and Acute by Ella Lyons
  8. Prep and Prejudice by Miren B. Flores

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Forget Me Always by Sara Wolf Blog Tour

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Welcome to the blog tour for Forget Me Always by Sara Wolf, the second book in the Lovely Vicious series. This a book spotlight where you can read more about the book and the series, and there’s also a giveaway at the end.

forget-me-always-coverForget Me Always (Lovely Vicious #2) by Sara Wolf
Date Released: November 1, 2016
Publisher: Entangled Teen

It’s been three years, twenty-five weeks, and five days since Isis Blake fell in love, and if she has it her way, it’ll stretch into infinity. Since then, she’s punched Jack Hunter — her nemesis-turned-maybe-something-more—in the face, survived a brutal attack by her mom’s abusive ex thanks to Jack’s heroics, and then promptly forgotten all about him.

The one bright spot for Isis is Sophia, the ephemeral girl who shares Isis’s hospital stay as well as a murky past with Jack. But as Isis’s memories return, she finds it harder and harder to resist what she felt for Jack, and Jack finds it impossible to stay away from the only girl who’s ever melted the ice around his heart.

As the dark secrets surrounding Sophia emerge, Isis realizes Jack isn’t who she thought he was. He’s dangerous. But when Isis starts receiving terrifying emails from an anonymous source, that danger might be the only thing protecting her from something far more threatening.

Her past.

Add to Goodreads.

Purchase Links:

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

Link to Tour Schedule.

Other Books in the Series:

Love Me Never Cover (1).pngLove Me Never (Lovely Vicious #1) by Sara Wolf
Date Released: April 5, 2016
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance / Dark Comedy
Previously published as Lovely Vicious, this fully revised and updated edition is full of romance, intrigue, and laugh-out-loud moments.

Don’t love your enemy. Declare war on him.

Seventeen-year-old Isis Blake hasn’t fallen in love in three years, nine weeks, and five days, and after what happened last time, she intends to keep it that way. Since then she’s lost eighty-five pounds, gotten four streaks of purple in her hair, and moved to Buttcrack-of-Nowhere, Ohio, to help her mom escape a bad relationship.

All the girls in her new school want one thing—Jack Hunter, the Ice Prince of East Summit High. Hot as an Armani ad, smart enough to get into Yale, and colder than the Arctic, Jack Hunter’s never gone out with anyone. Sure, people have seen him downtown with beautiful women, but he’s never given high school girls the time of day. Until Isis punches him in the face.

Jack’s met his match. Suddenly everything is a game.

The goal: Make the other beg for mercy.

The game board: East Summit High.

The reward: Something neither of them expected.

Giveaway:

Contest ends November 18, 2016

  • One (1) winner will receive an audiobook copy of Love Me Never by Sara Wolf

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About The Author:

Sara Wolf is a twenty-something author who adores baking, screaming at her cats, and screaming at herself while she types hilarious things. When she was a kid, she was too busy eating dirt to write her first terrible book. Twenty years later, she picked up a keyboard and started mashing her fists on it and created the monster known as the Lovely Vicious series. She lives in San Diego with two cats, a crippling-yet-refreshing sense of self-doubt, and not enough fruit tarts ever.

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Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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