November Instagram Photos

Hi everyone! I wanted to share the photos I've taken with Instagram for the month of November. Hope you enjoy them!

Follow me on instagram: ariannecruz07

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Book Review: Blood Debt by Nancy Straight

Title: Blood Debt
Touched Series
Author: Nancy Straight
Self-Published
Buy Link: Amazon (Paperback) | Amazon (Kindle)
Source: Free copy for helping name the book on Goodreads.

Blurb:

Her whole life, it had just been the two of them. Before her mother’s last breath, she gave Camille the information she had craved her entire life: the identity of her father. Daring to contact him, Camille was welcomed by an entire family she never knew existed. But nothing comes without a price, as she discovers when her family claims a legendary heritage tracing back to a Centaur touched by Zeus.

As she learns the secrets of her Centaur bloodline, she is drawn into a forbidden love with Drake. Her family acknowledges her life may be the blood debt required to pay for her mother’s transgressions. The same person who once held her mother captive, and forced her into decades of hiding, now controls Camille. Her only chance is to seek a piece of her mother’s past that will win her freedom and the life she desperately desires.

Review

OH. MY. GOOD CENTAUR. This book left me SPEECHLESS and begging at times. I haven't read an incredibly moving book in a while until I read this book. It was absolutely a masterpiece!

The book opened up with Camille mourning her mother's death and her struggle within herself on whether to contact her long lost father or to just move on with her life. Her loneliness won causing her to finally calling her father, and the next thing she knew, she was in a plane to meet him.

When she first arrived, she had a nice surprise - five half brothers, and all very attractive. I was wishing I was with her at the time to meet her brothers. I probably would have been so uncomfortable and drooling inside. They were very welcoming and warm to her. She also found that they were incredibly wealthy.

When she finally met her father, she didn't know what to say or do. It was awkward at first. And then, she met his real wife; even more awkwardness. Weirdly enough, Gretchen was very warm and kept reassuring Camille that she was welcome in their house and that they were very happy to have her.

The next day, the bomb dropped on Camille. She found out about her heritage and she was thrown into all the traditions and rules, if you may, of their race. She didn't like it one bit. She had her first taste on her oldest brother's wedding. Let's just say she got herself in a lot of trouble. A lot more if not for a handsome Centaur named Drake.

      Mr. Richardson stepped directly in front of me, his hands tight behind his back. I didn't know what it was about him, but he gave me one final threat, "If you dishonor our agreement, I will not hesitate to take my payment."

      "My eyes narrowed. I didn't need this added reminder. "Mr. Richardson, I am fully aware of the consequences. If at any time in the next five years you threaten my life or the life of someone in my family without justification, I won't hesitate to take yours. Just so we're clear.

Betrothal to a Centauride (female Centaur) was sacred, and therefore cannot be broken. They had a rule that a betrothed Centaur can't look, speak to, or touch another Centauride. Drake was betrothed. Camille kissed him. Cue the chaos.

I will stop summarizing the story here. Just trust me that the book is absolutely amazing and needs to be devoured immediately. One thing that didn't quite sit well with me was Camille's defiance against her own race. It felt weird to me somehow, like it was maybe a bit too much? I'm not sure, but that was just a minor setback and can be overlooked. One thing I did like that stood out was some of the Greek Mythology. I like it in general, but reading it in this book was a very nice touch indeed.

My favorite part, and also the saddest part, is the climax of the book. I was literally saying to myself over and over, "No, please, it's not true. It can't be true. Noooo." I was about to just finish the book in a hurry and write a somewhat angry review to the author, but then, something hit me. Maybe it wasn't true! Maybe there was hope. I mean, really, it just can't be true. I repeated this belief in my head over and over as well. Seriously, can anyone say I'm quite delirious at this point? The author just took my heart, broke it into little pieces, and left it there (this comment also mean something if you read the book *wink*)

OVERALL, Nancy Straight had a rare talent of literally reaching into your heart and making you feel what her character felt in the book. Absolutely magnificent work. I rarely rate my reviews unless I have to, but this book gets a whopping 5/5!

Check out this little enjoyable excerpt :)

      He whispered, "I'll be waiting for you in your closet tonight. Gage will keep you downstairs long enough for me to get into position."

      "You're going to hide in my closet?"

      "Unless you have a better idea. Gage can't come up with a distraction every night; it would cause too much suspicion."

      "So, Gage, he doesn't mind?"

      "Are you nuts? Gage knows how I feel about you. So does Bianca."

      I could hear my heart pounding in my chest, scared that I might ruin the moment, but more fearful of not knowing the answer, "How do you feel about me?"

      [He] gave me the strangest look. Sarcasm oozed from his voice when he said, "I'm fascinated by your threshold for pain. How do you think I feel about you?" His lips found mine in an aggressive and needy way. His hands clung to my flesh as if it would be the last time he would hold me for a lifetime. I didn't know what would happen the rest of the day, and in that moment, the earth could have stopped spinning and I wouldn't have given it a second thought.

Convinced yet? Go and get this book before you regret it!

About the Author:

Nancy was born in Sioux City Iowa, left the cold of the Midwest in 1991 and only returns to see family in the summer time. She spent ten years traveling the world as a US Marine and settled in rural SC. She has two fantastic son, three rotten dogs and an amazing husband. When not writing she enjoys RVing with her family, swimming and reading all types of romance genres. Her favorite is paranormal romance.

Amazon | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads



P.S.
Nancy scheduled a tour with Romantic Maidens Book Tours for next month. Click here and sign up before you miss out on this amazing book!

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What's Going On?

Hi everyone...

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple days. I've been sick and don't really have the motivation to come up with blog posts. Tomorrow, however, I have a review of a really awesome book, so hopefully you will check that out.

I'm also busy with school - I graduate in 3 weeks!! How cool is that :)

Let me know in the comments what's new with you and leave a link for any new posts you'd like me to check out :)

Til next time,
Arianne

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Excerpt/Giveaway: Reawakened by Carrie Pulkinen

Title: Reawakened

Author: Carrie Pulkinen

Publisher: Breathless Press

Release Date: September 13, 2012

Pages: 233

Buy Links: Amazon | Breathless Press | ARe

Blurb:

Her magic has been reawakened. But will her heart let her follow her destiny?

Jules Hume lives in a world where magic is a myth and supernatural creatures are fiction. Or so she thinks. Her boyfriend Ian would have to disagree. When Jules discovers the man of her dreams is not only a vampire, but a vampire king who’s tasked with saving the world from a demon attack, life as she knows it ends. Can she accept her fate and take her place by Ian's side as ruler of the paranormal world? Or will she close her mind and her heart to the chance at love and adventure?

Excerpt

    He kissed me passionately, parting my lips with his tongue, tasting me, exploring me until my head was spinning and I had to come up for air. He leaned his forehead against mine and traced my lips with his finger. "I love you, Juliann…Now, let me help you dress."

    Before I could say any more, my shirt was on the floor, and he was working on my pants. He easily slipped them down over my legs, and I stepped out, heading to my suitcase to get a strapless bra. Good thing I'd packed one. Ian put his hands on my shoulders and examined the back of my bra. 

    "This is not so difficult. He undid the hooks and slid the straps over my shoulders. "I'm a fast learner." He grinned and held out his hand for the strapless one, so I gave it to him. He wrapped it around me, hooking it in the back.

    "I really do know how to dress myself," I said. He turned me around to face him.

    "But, I enjoy helping you so much." He ran his finger along the top edge of my bra. "I like to pamper you."

    "Okay then. Pamper away." That made him smile. He had such a striking smile. Actually, everything about him was beautiful. And he made me feel beautiful.

    He carefully took the dress from the bed and held it out for me to step into. Then he laced up the back and tied it.

    "Well, what do you think?" I spun around.

    "It's perfect. You are perfect."

    I looked in the mirror, and it was a stunning dress. I was supposed to be a queen, but in that dress, I felt like a princess.

    "It's missing something, though." He grinned and held out a little burgundy box. I opened it and found a spectacular diamond encrusted hair comb. It looked very old, but it was exquisite and strangely familiar at the same time.

    "Oh, Ian this must have cost a fortune."

    "It did." He shrugged. "A very long time ago. It is yours."

    I took it out of the box to get a better look. "I love it; it's so beautiful. I feel like I've seen it before, though. Why is it so familiar?"

    He took the comb and carefully put it in my hair. I turned to look in the mirror, and it was perfect. The diamonds caught the light just right and sparkled in a million colors.

    "It was my gift to you," he said as he held me from behind, and we admired it in the mirror. "You wore it on our wedding day."

    "I…you…kept it? For this long? Oh, Ian!" I turned to him, buried my face in his chest, and cried. I wasn't usually an overly emotional person. Really. But, Ian tended to have that effect on me. And, he kept my hair comb for a thousand years. My heart filled with joy.

    "Did I do something to upset you, my Jewel?" 

    "No." I sobbed. "I'm just so happy. You just…you're amazing, Ian. I love you so much."

    He held me close and whispered softly in my ear. "Shh…Come, my love. Do not cry. We will never be apart again. I am nothing without you."

    We stood there in each other's arms as I got my emotions under control. So much love filled me, it felt like my heart was going to burst. It almost hurt. I looked at him, tracing my finger along his jaw line and across his lips. Then he playfully bit my finger and sucked on the tip as I pulled it out of his mouth. I smiled and kissed him. 

    "Just let me go freshen up a little bit; then we can leave. Okay?" The sun had set, so I wasn't worried about him getting sick any more. I supposed my blood did energize him. I briefly considered telling him about my new ability, but I got distracted with my makeup and forgot about it.

    I freshened up my lipstick and added some extra eye shadow and blush to go with the dress. Ian waited patiently for me in the bedroom, finally allowing me to do something for myself. Not that I minded all the pampering. That was definitely something I could've gotten used to. Makeup application just wasn't his thing.

    When I came out of the bathroom, he held out his arm to me in an elegant gesture. "Shall we? We must get to the Summit early to ensure your safety."

    I took his arm, but paused when he mentioned my safety. "What's going to happen tonight? I'm scared."

    He turned to face me and kissed my forehead. "I will keep you safe. Do not worry about that. As for what will happen tonight…I'm sure everyone will be as enamored of you as I am."

    "Right," I mumbled as he escorted me out the door.

About the Author:

Carrie Pulkinen has always been fascinated with the paranormal. Of course, when you grow up next door to a cemetery, the dead (and the undead) are hard to ignore. Pair that with her passion for writing and her father's insatiable love for monster movies, and you've got the perfect recipe for an exciting storyteller. 

Carrie spent the first part of her professional life as a high school journalism and yearbook teacher. Now she's able to channel her love of the English language into stories of amazing sex with devilishly handsome men. In her free time, Carrie likes to read, take pictures, and play with her kids. She invites you to contact her at carrie.pulkinen@hotmail.com, or visit her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CarriePulkinen.

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon

Giveaway

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Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope you all have a safe Thanksgiving and a lot of good food with family and friends.

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ANTM Review: The Girl Who Becomes ANTM

Who else watched this episode???

Leave it to Kelly to ruin a photoshoot...

Last season's winner, Sophie, is back!!!!

Leila was the most Nylon!!!!

Of course Leila had the best Nine West photo as well.

Laura had a sexy picture - there's nothing she can do about it.
Kiara had a pea-head.
Leila was the perfect combination of high fashion and commercial!!!!! -Tyra

Leila tripped twice on her first walk! Oh no!
Kiara had the best walk.
Laura was stiff.

Leila not winning the competition is very disappointing. Absolutely disappointing.

Winner of America's Next Top Model Cycle 16..

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Pink Spotlight (17): H&M

Hi everyone! How was your week? Anything extra exciting happen? What did you do on Veteran's Day? Well, I went shopping last Monday courtesy of the holiday.

I heard on the radio that H&M had a sale of buy one get one free so I just had to go and shop. Unfortunately, not everything in the store was buy one get one free. I did get a beautiful dress and I'm so excited to wear it! By the way, it's wrinkled because I tried it on.

I just LOVE IT! It makes my waist look smaller and gives me all the right curves :D

Right now, I'm actually obsessed with stripes... They just make me look slimmer than I actually am. I want to shop more at H&M but I'll try and find the bargains... Their prices are expensive!!!

So, do you shop at H&M, too?

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