July: A Month Of Defeats

Everyone struggles in life. It’s just a fact. Maya Angelou warned that “you may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” She said “in fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”

This year one of my goals is to face my defeats, learn from them, and walk away stronger. Part of that path forward includes being honest when I’m struggling and not hiding.

So here’s the truth:

This month I did not meet two important deadlines.

This month I wanted to make a big announcement
but I chickened out.

This month I dropped the ball on marketing.

This month I felt like a failure.

This month I felt like an imposture.

This month I believed what I do doesn’t matter.

This month life defeated me.

Why am I telling you this? Because we all struggle. Most of us silently. Posting happy pictures on Instagram and snarky comments on Twitter is easier than being real, being honest.

Ultimately, what I want to say to every person who drops by this blog is: We got you.

We got you during the good times.

We got you during the hard times.

We got you during the lonely times.

We got you during the hurricane.

We got you during the rainbow.
We got you when you’re defeated.

We. Got. You.

Here you can be honest. Here no one is pretending to be anything other than human. Here we make mistakes but we learn from them. Here we crawl forward. Here there is no judgement. Here there are no comparisons or snide remarks or ignoring each other's pain.

This month I felt defeated.
This month I failed a lot.

But that’s okay.
Because I will rise.
I will know who I am.

And my hope for you is that you too will rise from the ashes of your defeats and know better who you are and what you are capable of.

On My E-Reader: Absolute Liability (Southern Fraud Thriller)

This month's On My E-Reader is another fantastic looking mystery novel. Sporting a brand new cover and an intriguing book blurb, Absolute Liability by Jennifer Becton is sure to please.

amazon
goodreads

Book Description: A woman was abducted in her place. Now, time is running out for Julia Jackson to save herself from the same fate.

A woman is taken at gunpoint from a downtown office building, and the police believe the victim is Special Agent Julia Jackson.

Only it isn’t true.

Now, with the help of her new partner Mark Vincent, state fraud investigator Julia Jackson must find justice for the woman who was taken in her place.

As Vincent and Julia begin to unravel the multimillion-dollar scam that led to the abduction, they encounter several quirky suspects, one of whom will go to desperate lengths to hide a deadly secret. 

Things only become more dangerous as bodies begin accumulating around town, and Julia must uncover the truth before the abductor comes to rectify his mistake.

Reasons I bought the book: Back in February I reviewed Holidays With Jane: Will You Be Mine? here on the blog. I have been a fan of the Holidays With Jane books since they first came out. The first book in the Holidays With Jane series is Christmas Cheer. Ms. Becton's short story The Work of an Instant (a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasions) is clever and swoony and all the yes.

When I found her Southern Fraud Thriller series on sale, I picked up the whole series. Cause don't we all need a good cozy mystery series around for a cold winter night? It's just good science! I look forward to reading Ms. Becton's Southern Fraud series in the near future.

Check out Jennifer Becton

on Twitter, FaceBook, and her website.

Pick up your copy on Amazon.

Have you read Absolute Liability?

Did you review it?

If so, share it with me!

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

A Book Review: Truth or Beard

This month's book review is Penny Reid's Truth or Beard. I adore the Winston Brothers series. Let me tell you why!

goodreads
amazon

Book Description: Beards, brothers, and bikers! Oh my!

Identical twins Beau and Duane Winston might share the same devastatingly handsome face, but where Beau is outgoing and sociable, Duane is broody and reserved. This is why Jessica James, recent college graduate and perpetual level-headed good girl, has been in naïve and unhealthy infatuation with Beau Winston for most of her life.

His friendly smiles make her tongue-tied and weak-kneed, and she’s never been able to move beyond her childhood crush. Whereas Duane and Jessica have always been adversaries. She can’t stand him, and she’s pretty sure he can’t stand the sight of her…

But after a case of mistaken identity, Jessica finds herself in a massive confusion kerfuffle. Jessica James has spent her whole life paralyzed by the fantasy of Beau and her assumptions of Duane’s disdain; therefore she’s unprepared for the reality that is Duane’s insatiable interest, as well as his hot hands and hot mouth and hotter looks. Not helping Jessica’s muddled mind and good girl sensibilities, Duane seems to have gotten himself in trouble with the local biker gang, the Iron Order

Certainly, Beau’s magic spell is broken. Yet when Jessica finds herself drawn to the man who was always her adversary, now more dangerous than ever, how much of her level-head heart is she willing to risk?

Ang's Review: Okay. First off: How about that cover?! It's so adorable I want to start cross stitching again. Not that I'm good at it, but that is not the point! Beardy cross-stitch: where have you been all my life?!

So book review, that's what I'm doing.

I am head over heels in love with the Winston Brother series. Book one is Duane's story. It's a quirky, fast-paced read. The tension between Jessica and Duane is just right: childhood enemies turned love interests is always a fun trope. Their push me pull me relationship kept me hoping things would work out yet terrified it wouldn't. Jessica's wanderlust and her fears that her hometown and the people in it would hold her back was easy to relate to.

From the first page to the last page I was hooked on Truth or Beard. The moment I finished it, I bought the second book and read it just as quickly.

If you're looking for a smart romance that will make you laugh out loud and swoon, Truth or Beard is the book for you.

Pick up a copy today on Amazon or other major retailers. And make sure to checkout the other books in the series (including book .5 that's part of Peggy Reid's Knitting in the City series)!

Ang's Top Five They Need To Be Out Now Books

Who here feels like they're going to die a slow agonizing death if the book they are DYING to read doesn't come out yesterday?! You do too?! IT'S EXHAUSTING. Amiright?! The following is a list of books that need to be out right NOW. One doesn't even have a cover. What. Even.

Without further ado. I give you. My top five they need to be out NOW books:

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

goodreads

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

goodreads

My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand,

Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

goodreads
(NO COVER TO DATE)

Beard Necessities by Penny Reid

goodreads

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

goodreads

What books are you dying for?

Are they coming out this year?
Or do you (like me) have to wait until next year?
THE AGONY.