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The Painted Lady by Amanda Moncrefe

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Book Description:

Sometimes the risks may not be worth the sacrifice…

Asha St. Claire is a young single mother who was willing to sacrifice whatever it took to secure financial freedom for her and her little boy. She believed those sacrifices finally paid off when she won a full academic scholarship to Natchez State University, a remote Mississippi college hundreds of miles away from her Chicago home-town. What she wasn’t aware of, however, was that in order to accept the scholarship, she would be forced to leave her son behind. Determined on becoming economically secure, Asha sacrifices her immediate wants, accepts the scholarship, and permits temporary custodial rights of her son to her mother in order to pursue her degree.

Still reeling from the separation from her son, Asha is completely caught off guard when she meets Delphi, a man who not only rattles her focused and well laid plans for the future, but also every sensory nerve that makes her a female.
Delphi has everything Asha could ever want; however she finds he often holds back if pressed to reveal his past. Can she trust him enough to move forward and build the secured future she’s dreamed of? Or is his constant hesitation a sign that he is completely wrong for both her and her son?

Delphi Allen is a man who knows what he wants-and what he wants is Asha. In his single-minded pursuit, he chooses to ignore past events in his life that could negatively impact both their futures. Can he convince Asha that her current choices won’t make her happy without revealing secrets he’s tried to forget?

Or will his decision and her sacrifice ultimately cost them both?

My Rating: 0/5

**I would like to start off by saying that I received The Painted Lady by Amanda Moncrefe for free via Goodreads giveaway in exchange for a review. Although I am super grateful and excited for any opportunity at receiving a book for free, I am also very strict with being honest. That being said, giveaways do not impact my reviews.**

The cover is so pretty and intriguing – but this is NOT the book I thought it was going to be.  I read up to page 35 and I can’t do it anymore.  I just didn’t like the content (and wouldn’t have entered the giveaway for this book if I had known).  IT’S VERY DIRTAYYYY!  I’m no prude, but I prefer my porn on screen and less “I’m gonna poke your ass all day in class..” type of thing….

Okay, since this is my blog, I’m going full force.  I was a little nicer on GR and the like, because I know I wasn’t the right audience for this and I’m not a complete dick.  It’s not fair for someone to judge something that they don’t like in the first place.  It’s like me saying a song is terrible because I can’t stand the genre of music.  Doesn’t make it a terrible song because I don’t like the style, get mah drift?  Again, I did not know this going in to the book.  BUT – this is my blog.  If the author or whoever cares to read a good review on this book and made it this far – wellll – that’s their fault.

One thing that threw me off – this is an urbanish book.  Red flag numero uno.  The other thing was how disgusting the males treat the females.  This dude is really gonna poke some girl in the ass while she’s in class because he likes “making her squirm” and then I get a wonderful description of how wet her pants were getting – again I only read 35 pages and this isn’t the first descriptive content you get to read OH and these people barely know each other.  If someone even accidentally touches my ass like that, you guarantee if I’m in class, my pencil’s going straight through their hand.  Glad this author writes about self respecting women.

Don’t get me wrong, I can read sex scenes, I’m down with the putang!  But there’s a right way of writing it and then there’s a pathetic way.  Needless to say, this writer did the latter.

So yeah, unless you want to read a rude, hard nippling, ass poking, disrepectful piggish book – YOU’VE FOUND IT!

Summary: Men are disrespectful pigs and women are eager tramps.

Also, I’m sad this book has a small setting in Chicago.  Being I’m from the Chicagoland area, I know we’re better than this…

This book is so stupid, I can’t even turn it into a craft.  What a waste of a pretty cover.

Happy Reading! xo

Identity Crisis!

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Formally:  Kay_Reads

So as you can clearly tell, I’m having a sort of “identity crisis..”  When I originally started this blog, I was so eager to write my book reviews that I just picked the most uncreative name I could think of.  I was never a fan of “Kay_Reads,” it didn’t speak to me, it didn’t stand out… it was just something to use for the time being.  I read everywhere that changing your identity was a bad idea, blah blah blah.  But the only thing I had to change with every platform I was using were the user names!  I didn’t lose any of my wonderful followers, I didn’t have to ask anyone to ‘like’ this one, follow this new page, and the best part of all, I didn’t have to spend several hours customizing and reposting everything 😀

So I apologize for any confusion, but the new name is here and it is here to stay!

So with that, I re-welcome you to the not-so-new:

TheNerdyBookmark

Thank you for your understanding & Happy Reading!

Divergent Series Wrap Up

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Series Description:

Divergent: One choice can transform you. This debut is a gripping dystopian tale of electrifying choices, powerful consequences, unexpected romance, and a deeply flawed “perfect society.”

Insurgent: One choice can destroy you. This story continues the dystopian thrill ride. As war surges in the factions all around her, Tris attempts to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Allegiant: The explosive conclusion to the Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers.

Four: A Divergent Collection: A companion volume to the Divergent series, told from the perspective of Tobias. The four pieces included—”The Transfer,” “The Initiate,” “The Son,” and “The Traitor”—plus three additional exclusive scenes, give readers a fascinating glimpse into the history and heart of Tobias, and set the stage for the epic saga of the Divergent trilogy.

My Rating: 5/5

Some might argue that Four: A Divergent Collection should not be included in the series. Do you need to read it? Absolutely not. But if you’re a fan of Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant than I must urge you to grab this companion novel. To me, it IS apart of the series – it gives you insight on some scenes throughout the trilogy that will may you go, “ahhh – that’s why he did that!”

This series is a series that will stay on my bookshelf probably forever. If you’re a fan of The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner series, there’s no doubt in my mind that you won’t enjoy what Veronica Roth has to offer. And it’s set in Chicago gaiz, greatest city everrr 😛 (Yes, I’m biased). You will be taken on an emotional roller coaster, you will experience heart pounding action, you get romance, you get breathtaking scenery. Everything you could want in a YA/Dystopian novel, you get that and more. I personally hope we get to read more of Veronica Roth in the future :] Thank you for taking me on an incredible adventure, Mrs. Roth!

Here are my links to each separate review:

Thanks for reading! :]

2015 October Wrap Up

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Total Books = 7
Average Rating = 4

Overall, a great month for reading! 😀

1.) City of Words by Steven J. Carroll – 3.5/5
2.) Allegiant by Veronica Roth – 5/5
3.) Four by Veronica Roth – 4/5
4.) The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin – 4/5
5.) Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – 5/5
6.) Breed by Chase Novak – 3/5
7.) Far Far Away by Tom McNeal – 3.5/5

How many books did you get through this colorful month?

2015 October Bookhaul

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Welcome to my October 2015 Bookhaul! Wooo! I think I have to put on the brakes after this one though cause in the last 2 months I’ve acquired 52 books that I gotta get through… eash. Plus with Thanksgiving around the corner (which my husband and I host for our military family) and then Christmasssss, oye!

On to the books! I’ll have a list below of each book pictured, where I got them, paperback or hardcover, special editions and how much my total purchase at each place was! If you have any more questions – or comments – about this months haul, please feel free to leave/ask them below 😀 Happy reading!

Total Books: 24
Total Amount Spent: $72

Barnes & Noble – $14
1.) The Host by Stephenie Meyer; paperback
2.) Fiend by Peter Stenson; hardcover
3.) Beautiful Chaos, Bk. 3 (Caster Chronicles/Beautiful Creatures Series) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl; paperback

The Book Exchange$22
1.) The Sea of Monsters, Bk. 2 (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riordan; paperback
2.) Reckless, Bk. 1 (Mirrorworld) by Cornelia Funke; hardcover
3.) Redwall, Bk. 1 (Redwall) by Brian Jacques; paperback
4.) The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling; hardcover
5.) Deep Blue Bk. 1 (Waterfire Saga) by Jennifer Donnelly; hardcover
6.) Asylum, Bk. 1 (Asylum) by Madeleine Roux; paperback

Half Price Book Store$7
1.) The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates; paperback
2.) Stoneheart, Bk. 1 (Stoneheart Trilogy) by Charlie Fletcher; paperback
3.) The Awakening, Bk. 2 (Darkest Powers) by Kelley Armstrong; hardcover
4.) The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, Bk. 3.5 (Twilight) by Stephenie Meyer; hardcover

BookOutlet$30
1.) Dreamspinner, Bk. 7 (Nine Kingdoms) by Lynn Kurland; paperback
2.) House of Secrets, Bk. 1 (House of Secrets) by Chris Columbus & Ned Vizzini; hardcover
3.) Battle of the Beasts, Bk. 2 (House of Secrets) by Chris Columbus & Ned Vizzini; hardcover
4.) Eve & Adam, Bk. 1 (Eve & Adam) by Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate; paperback
5.) The Calling, Bk. 1 (Endgame) by James Frey & Nils Johnson-Shelton; hardcover
6.) Storybound, Bk. 1 (Storybound) by Marissa Burt; paperback
7.) Dream A Little Dream, Bk. 1 (The Silver Trilogy) by Kerstin Gier; hardcover
8.) Crank, Bk. 1 (Crank) by Ellen Hopkins, paperback
9.) Glass, Bk. 2 (Crank) by Ellen Hopkins, paperback
10.) Quintessence by David Walton; paperback

Giveaway Books FREE
1.) Haze, Bk. 2 (The Rephaim) by Paula Weston; paperback

ARCsFREE (I get these from work)
6 Romance Novels – these won’t be included in the total. I get these from work but I do not keep them, instead, I pass them on to my momma to read because she loves romance novels – and I do not… *shudder*

Four by Veronica Roth

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Book Description:

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.
Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

My Rating: 4/5

Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this book! It was the perfect remedy for my hangover ending the Divergent series! If you’re like me and REALLLLY enjoyed the series, then definitely get your hands on this book. After finishing Allegiant, I really learned to enjoy reading as Tobias so this was a great way to indulge in his life that much more.

I, personally, enjoy when the author releases more books that tie into the series – IF – it’s done well, and I feel this did just that. Although some people like when series end *ehhhhh*, I really enjoy getting one more book to celebrate it; I enjoy getting one more piece of cake before it’s gone – especially when it’s really good cake like chocolate, and this was my chocolate cake :]

A fun fact when I bought this book: I ordered it off of Amazon because it offered the best price. I also ordered it with a few other things. Anyway, upon receiving the book (which everything was in perfect condition), I noticed the jacket of the book was tucked away a couple pages in. Naturally, I open to that page because I want the jacket to be lying where it’s suppose to be lying and to my surprise, I find my book’s signed by the marvelous Veronica Roth herself 😀 WOOHOO! Of course it said this on the outside of the book as well, but I did not pay attention to that by any means. So unknowingly, I guess I ordered a signed copy! I is so heppy >:]

Now to the book itself: There wasn’t really much I didn’t enjoy. I think you get this book knowing what you’re getting in to so I feel you already have that idea knowing if you’re going to enjoy it or not. I was super stoked to grab it and naturally, I came out of this book super stoked that I nabbed it.

When we read with Tobias on BEFORE he meets Tris, we are introduced to him going through his simulations. I LOVE what they did here because we did not get this in the series. Here it shows Tobias going through his Marcus simulation. In the original series, it’s just regular ol’ Marcus being cruel as usual. But when Tobias first starts using the sims, we learn that Marcus didn’t always look like Marcus. Tobias was so fearful of him that he saw him as the monster that he is. He was Marcus but not Marcus having dark pits for the eyes and the mouth with razor tip fingers. Now that is something to be terrified of! But further in, as Tobias confronts his Marcus sim over and over again, Marcus tends to become more human like as Tobias realizes that Marcus ISN’T a monster, but just his father. His cruel father. So overtime, Marcus loses these holes for eyes, for his mouth.. and eventually becomes. . . Marcus.

Fast forward now the when Tobias has met Tris. There’s a scene in particular that they recall from Divergent where Tris is breaking down somewhat over the fear simulations and Tobias kind of snaps at Tris instead of comforting her. Now to the reader, I felt just as shocked as Tris felt with his reaction – not knowing what Tobias was really intending. And in Four, they clear this up. The reason he responds to Tris in the ways that he does is because Tobias knows more than what we’re led to believe in the series. He knew they were being watched – ACTUALLY being watched! He knew there were cameras, he knows where they are and that they can see and hear anyone whenever they choose to tune in. Because of this, he can’t talk about certain things and because of this, he has to be stern with Tris at times, to protect him. . . to protect her . . . to WARN her. Even if she doesn’t know it or particularly like it.

I really enjoyed these 2 scenes in particular. They brought a sense of “ah-ha!” and were cleverly done. They fit in to the past stories very well which I am so grateful for!

All in all, if you LOVED the Divergent series as much as I did but have NOT grabbed this book, then my question to is: WHY?! What are you waiting for? Go get it now! RIGHT MEOW!

A Couple Days Of Absence. . .

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LOOK AT THESE BOOKENDS which of course I don’t intend to use as their purpose. I got these babies on 75% off clearance at my Barnes & Noble (originally: $60 sale price: $15)

So this post has absolutely no purpose except to let you guys know that I will not be posting this week, therefore, I have provided 3 new posts all at once down below for you to enjoy in my absence :] I am leaving today for Chicago to visit family and will be back Friday, so please hang tight!

Until Then,
Happy reading! ❤

Insurgent (Movie Edition) **WARNING: Kind Of Spoiler-y**

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Directed by Robert Schwentke

My Rating: 4/5

I’d like to start by saying apart from the book, I enjoyed this movie wholeheartedly and if I did not read books, it would easily get a 5/5! But because I DID read the book and because, well, this is a book blog with book-to-film comparison reviews, I can not give it a 5/5 sadly :[

I feel like with this movie, they changed way too much. The further you get into the movie, the more it strays from the book itself.

Peter Eric Amity Betrayal

We see this in the very beginning of the movie when Tris, Tobias and Peter make it to Amity. One of the scenes added to the movie that was NOT in the book was Peter betraying Tris and Tobias and the Amity compound. When Eric and the rest of the Dauntless traitors show up for an unexpected raid, Peter, Tris and Tobias are caught upstairs with nowhere to go. Once they decide their only option is to climb out of a window to escape, Peter claims he’ll be the lookout for them until he shouts at Eric that they’re all upstairs and he needs to come get them quick (as if he wasn’t a runner himself…??). Can anyone say c-o-w-a-r-d. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy this scene. I really did, that cheeky bastard. I love to hate Peter. BUT it wasn’t in the book!

Kate Winslet and Shailene Woodley in a scene from the motion picture "The Divergent Series: Insurgent." CREDIT: Andrew Cooper, Lionsgate [Via MerlinFTP Drop]

They also tweaked the scenes where Tris is getting tested to open to box. In the book, the machine Tris is hooked up to is no where near as intricate or spider like as they painted it in the movie. Again, nothing I disliked, just NOT IN THE BOOK.

Tris and Tobias Amity

Oh and can we talk about Tris and Tobias? Their relationship in this book in particular was confusing. They had only recently met, fell “in love” and were now arguing with each other. Wuuuut?? Das a lil cray and completely unrealistic. But they did not decide to go this route for the movie. Instead, Tris and Tobias seem to be their same happy go lucky selves in a shitty “Imma keel yew” world. Now this is one thing I’m glad they didn’t portray into the movie BECAUSE IT WAS AWKWARD TO READ! They should not have been in that state throughout the book, IMO.

Now I know there was a lot of nonsense written throughout Insurgent that they wouldn’t/couldn’t have the time for, therefore, screenwriters have to condense and make the story make sense, which means, adding new scenes or tweaking for the sake of visual stimulation so I am not going to be too harsh with this one because I was not angry with this movie. At all. It was still a fantastic watch and I would recommend it to both readers and non readers a like! GO SEE THIS MOVIE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY!

2015 September Bookhaul

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First Ever Bookhaul of September 2015!

SO MANY BEWKS, SO LITTLE TIME! And to think I was holding back because I had to purchase plane tickets to visit home next month. I’d hate for you guys to see what I can do when I’m not holding back heh… heh…. YEAH SO… I’ll have a list below of each book pictured, where I got them, paperback or hardcover, special editions and how much my total purchase at each place was! If you have any more questions – or comments – about this month’s haul, please feel free to leave/ask them below 😀

Total Books: 29 (30 if you count both books in the 2-in-1)
Total Amount Spent: $128

BookOutlet = $42 (includes shipping)
1. ) A World Without Princes, Bk.2 (School for Good and Evil) by Soman Chainani; hardcover
2.) Beautiful Redemption, Bk.4 (Caster Chronicles/Beautiful Creatures Series) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl; paperback
3.) Everneath, Bk.1 (Everneath Series) by Brodi Ashton; paperback
4.) Everbound, Bk. 2 (Everneath Series) by Brodi Ashton; paperback
5.) Far Far Away By Tom McNeal; paperback
6.) Frostfire, Bk. 1 (Kanin Chronicles) by Amanda Hocking; paperback
7.) Hemlock, Bk. 1 (Hemlock Series) by Kathleen Peacock; paperback
8.) The Bone Season, Bk. 1 (The Bone Season) by Samantha Shannon; hardcover
9.) The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise by Matthew Crow; hardcover
10.) The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin; hardcover
11.) The Nethergrim by Matthew Jobin; hardcover

Amazon = $20 (free shipping @ $35 – also bought a DBZ Pop Vinyl for my main squeeze)
1.) Allegiant, Bk. 3 (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth; hardcover
2.) Four (Companion Novel to the Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth; signed hardcover

The Book Exchange (my local 1/2 price bookstore) = $28 (including tax)
1.) The Maze Runner, Bk. 1 (Maze Runner Series) by James Dashner; paperback
2.) The Scorch Trials, Bk. 2 (Maze Runner Series) by James Dashner; paperback
3.) City of Bones, Bk. 1 (The Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare; paperback
4.) Divergent, Bk. 1 (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth; paperback
5.) Insurgent, Bk. 2 (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth; hardcover
6.) Lord of the Clans, Bk. 2 (WarCraft) by Christie Golden; paperback
7.) Beautiful Darkness, Bk. 2 (Caster Chronicles/Beautiful Creatures Series) by Kami Garcia & Margart Stohl
8.) The Lightning Thief, Bk. 1 (Percy Jackson & The Olympians) by Rick Riordan, paperback

Barnes & Noble = $38 (including tax)
1.) Beautiful Creatures, Bk. 1 (Caster Chronicles/Beautiful Creatures Series) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl; paperback
2.) Are You There Vodka, It’s Me Chelsea? by Chelsea Handler; paperback
3.) The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick; paperback
4.) Undead (2-in-1/Night of the Living Dead & Return of the Living Dead) by John Russo; paperback
5.) Breed by Chase Novak; paperback
6.) The Isle of the Lost (A Descendants Novel) by Melissa De La Cruz; hardcover

Giveaway Books = (free)
1.) Waking the Dead by L. Sydney Fisher; signed paperback
2.) City of Words by Steven J. Carroll;signed paperback