I had so many mixed feelings when this book was announce. My initial reaction was “Do we really need another Beauty and the Beast retelling? (This should tell you how bad my book slump is. We ALWAYS need retellings especially of Beauty and the Beast) followed by “This book is way too hyped to be any good.” Boy was my initial thoughts wrong. I found this book on sale on Amazon (thank you Amazon) AND OH MY GOD, I DEVOURED IT! From the second I purchased this book, I was glued to my Kindle app. I refused to sleep until I got to the end (something that rarely happens anymore). “A Curse So Dark and Lonely” follows Prince Rhen who is cursed. Rhen has to get someone to fall in love with him or he turns into a beast at the end of the season and terrorizes everyone around him. Rhen’s only guard, Grey, helps Rhen by kidnapping girls and bringing them to the castle. During one of these trips, Harper sees Grey trying to kidnap a girl and decides to step in. Instead she ends up being kidnapped and brought to the castle. Unlike most of Rhen’s victims, Harper is stubborn and strong. And for Rhen, she may be his only hope of helping his people. This book was everything I loved from “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and “Cruel Beauty” mixed in one. I LOVED THIS BOOK SO SO SO MUCH. Just read it! If you are a fan of fantasy or retellings you definitely need to read this.
I started reading “The Moonlight Masquerade” as soon as I got home from work. Cinderella was not one of my favourite fairytales but I loved the idea of the ball. I was looking forward to seeing how it would be depicted here and Rachel Morgan did not disappoint. Ella makes the decision that she would lie to the Godmother that she will kill the prince. I get that she wants her freedom but it worries me that she would risk tangling with one of the most dangerous magical beings around. Anyway, so the Godmother helps Ella go to the ball where she needs to pretend to kill the prince, keep away from her step-mother and step-sisters AND try to avoid the vampires looking for her. I loved that this is a Cinderella adaptation but it is such a loose one that the City of Wishes series can stand on its own merits. The plot is fast-paced, the writing is excellent and the worldbuilding always leaves me awed. Definitely give this a try if you’re looking for something fun and not too long.
South African bookworms rejoice! Amazon has finally granted us access to their Kindle Unlimited Program.
If you haven’t heard of Kindle Unlimited before, basically it works as a sort of e-book library. You pay a monthly fee of $9.99 and get access to over a million titles as well as thousands of audiobooks.
You borrow the title you want by clicking “Read for Free” and once you are done, simply “return” it.
Kindle Unlimited does offer a free trial so you can try before deciding if it is for you.
I have joined already and so far it has been really fun reading L.J Shen’s books without having to pay for them.
Have you joined Kindle Unlimited? What are some of your Kindle Unlimited recommendations? Let me know below.
This book was the main reason for me going back to try “When Dimple Met Rishi” again. Dimple has made her thoughts on marriage clear repeatedly. It’s a sexist institution and as a feminist, she wants no part of it. Rishi, on the other hand, is far more traditional and would love to marry Dimple (even if they are still fairly young but okay). Eventually things come to a head when Rishi confronts Dimple about her issues with marriage. In return, Dimple wants to “think things over” Here’s the thing though. From my very first read of “When Dimple Met Rishi”, I wondered where any sort of relationship with this two would go. Dimple and Rishi are opposites and it is tough for me to imagine them ending up together. This was a fast read but incredibly enjoyable. I am glad to finally have answers to my questions about Dimple and Rishi’s future.
The Vampire Trap follows Dex and Ella as they try to lure in the vampires with Elle as bait. Elle is desperate to know how the vampires know her mother while Dex wants more knowledge on the “Allegiant” vampires. Meanwhile, Elle’s step-mother just becomes more and more awful. This chapter is far more action-packed than I expected. There are several plot twists and I loved seeing more of this world. These characters are witty and well-written. It is such a delight watching Elle go out with Dex and his friends. I would love to see more of Dex and his world. If you’re a fan of fantasy then I definitely recommend you give this a try. This is a unique twist on the Cinderella fairytale which I enjoyed immensely.
“The Memory Thief” is an urban fantasy Cinderella retelling. Set in a world full of fae, vampires and werewolves, “The Memory Thief” follows Elle, a human with the unique power to remove memories. Elle spends her days as a slave to her step-mother while her nights are spent removing memories in return for Essence. Essence is a substance that will allow Elle to purchase a wish in order to escape her vile step-mother. Elle’s plan is on track until she runs into a vampire who takes a sudden interest in her. When the vampire goes after Elle’s family, she has no choice but to fight back if she wants to keep her plans (and her Essence) a secret. This was an intriguing read that I devoured in one sitting (and then immediately started on the next part because I just COULD NOT STOP!). The world-building is amazing. The plot is intriguing and I love that Rachel Morgan has a series that includes vampires (I’ve been waiting for her to write vampires since her Creepy Hollow series ended). I cannot wait to read the next part of this serial.
Excuse me while I hide out in my pillow fort…forever
Last week Saturday, my family and I received news that my dad was turned down for a job.
It was pretty startling since it was made to seem as if the job was 100% certain. The company made travel plans and accommodation arrangements for him. Now they were saying they thought it over and did not actual require a manager.
I dealt with this in a very mature fashion. I went to my bed and stayed there for half an hour.
I felt numb and in shock. Did I read the signs wrong? Why would you talk about travel and accommodation plans if you are NOT hiring? What on Earth had happened?
Finally once I was done moping I decided to reorganise my vanity cupboard and sort out my scarves for winter. I told myself this was fine. Sure, my dad didn’t have a new job but he still had his current job.
I knew the company he worked at was closing but that was in a few months So he just had to look for something within the next two to three months. No biggie.
The Tuesday after this, the company my dad worked at, sent out their official communication that they were closed.
It was like a very cruel prank. This was the one thing I was depending on.
Here’s the thing. I come from a family of three. As in me, my mother and my father.
My mother is medically boarded and I am still in pretty early stages of my career. Basically my father’s the main earner in the house. (Also can I just say how pathetic my story sounds? Boohoo my dad has no job and my mother has Lupus. I could cringe just thinking about it).
If there is one thing my epic magazine failure (yes, going to an interview and deeming the industry as dying is definitely an epic failure in my books) taught me, it is that you should cry. Cry a river if you feel like it would make you feel better. But after that, build a bridge and get over it.
The parents and I sat down. Drew up a budget. Inside, a part of me died. There is one thing we did not address in our family budget. One unspoken but very critical rule.
The shopping would need to stop.
I love shopping. It makes me feel better. I have a stressful job and shopping is my way of fixing it. Could I really give it up? (Spoiler Alert: It is really looking like I can).
So we decided on who would cut out which spending and replace it with paying an account. All was good.
Then my dad’s side job as a driver fell through. At this point I feel like I’m living in my own “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. It is kind of amusing though. Anything that can go wrong is going wrong
So why am I sharing this?
At some point in the distant or not too distant future, I want to look back at this and say “hey remember that time your dad lost his job and you had to change your spending habits? You say you couldn’t but you did!”
Or even “remember that time everything was going wrong and it was so bad it was funny? It will just be nice to look back and say “I made it. Even when I thought I couldn’t.
There has been several times when I was like “nope, I can”t do this. I will not do this” but I got through it fine.
Like my final of year of college when the campus was on fire and I had to skip classes because my Criminology module clashed with English. Then there was that time I was convinced I would never get a job because I was scared to speak on the phone (hello, I now work in a call center).
You never really know what you can and can’t do until you have actually tried to do it.
I found the below in my drafts and thought to share it. The below was a drafted blog post probably sometime in 2019. Why is this relevant? Because I remember t the excitement of getting called back for a Marketing or Editorial role. I also remember the sole-crushing disappointment whenever one of these roles didn’t work out. What I didn’t know at the time of writing was that just a year later, in 2020, I would get my first Marketing role. I would write copy and learn advertising. And eventually, I would go on to get my dream job.
By the time this post goes live I may or may not still be working in the call center (who am I kidding? I’m pretty sure I’ll never leave but anyway).
So it’s been a few months since the horrible dream job rejection. Since then I’ve applied for tons of jobs in my field. I have zero expectations of being hired. However these job applications were not going the way I would have expected.
Some are far more successful than others. Some have resulted in zero feedback. Some have resulted in rejection emails. And some have resulted in pretty positive responses.
Here’s the thing though. I didn’t expect to have any kind of response. I’ve been job hunting this entire year for something in my field and recently for anything with an increased income (unfortunately for my family, the company my dad worked at, has closed). I got zero responses. This last batch that has people responding to me has given me some little bit of hope.
