Samantha Hastings's Blog, page 8
September 27, 2021
The Girl with the Golden Eyes
Hana’s life is forever changed when the Comtesse de Champagne, a wealthy and eccentric Englishwoman, sees a painting of her. The comtesse purchases Hana from her father, and Hana’s existence transforms from one of poverty to one of privilege.
For years Hana enjoys the comforts of her new position, but she hates how controlling and neurotic the comtesse is. When the comtesse is accused of murdering Sir Reginald Shipley over a painting, Hana must do all in her power to prove the comtesse’s innocence or she’ll lose everything.
She reluctantly works with Aaron Shipley, Sir Reginald’s grandson, to track down the true murderer, only to discover shocking secrets that will shake everything Hana and Aaron thought they knew about themselves and their families. And falling in love could prove deadly.
Coming November 8, 2021. Preorder now!
August 25, 2021
It's no secret... I'm getting another book published!
I'm delighted to announce that Covenant Communications has purchased my next book, SECRET OF THE SONNETS!
As soon as I have a cover, I will share it.
June 29, 2021
The Collector
Do you collect anything?
I collect books and teacups. My newest teacup is inspired by STRANGE THE DREAMER by Laini Taylor.
(From LitJoyCrate) #sharethelitjoy
March 28, 2021
What’s on the menu
I thought I’d share my home projects with books! This board and batten wall is in my dining room. My husband and I did it in February this year. I was glad for the help because the ceiling is 14+ feet high!
On the menu today is a delicious new book from Suzanne Park Comedienne and Author 🍛🍲🍜
SO WE MEET AGAIN
Book review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jess is fired from her Wallstreet banker job because they were restructuring and she was not leadership material; despite her work colleagues calling her an “Asian worker-bee” (#cringe). Embarrassed and jobless, Jess heads back to her parent’s home in Nashville. There she meets her middle school rival/nemesis Daniel and now he’s hot. Jess comes up with her own business plan to sell Korean sauces that can be used with meal kits. She even films cooking videos and her Korean parents help. But as her relationship with Daniel begins to simmer, her business has a setback.
Jess overcomes sexism and racism to create her own happily-ever-after. I loved her relationship with her mother and how it grew; despite their differences. I adore how Suzanne Park uses humor in hopeless situations and creates characters that are relatable and likeable. The description of Korean foods had me drooling.
This book is the perfect recipe for Women’s Fiction.
February 25, 2021
Alternate Endings!!!
Did you know that I wrote four different endings for Mariah Carter and my beta readers picked the one in the book?
Join my monthly newsletter and you can discover which one is YOUR favorite. March, April, and May will all highlight a new alternate ending to THE INVENTION OF SOPHIE CARTER 🎩💗📜!!!
Join here:
February 17, 2021
We Are the Fire
WE ARE THE FIRE by Sam Taylor
Book review: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
A riveting fantasy that had me spellbound.
When they were children, Oksana and Pran were stolen from their homes and countries and turned into demons. Fire-wielding Tuliikobrets for Emperor Juhan. Pran will do anything to get their freedom from the fort. Oksana is determined to help her friends, especially Pran get the medicine he needs for his bad leg (from all the transformations and experimenting). They both choose dangerous paths that might tear them apart before the emperor does. Both are trying to hold onto their humanity—but it may be too late.
Told in dual POV, both Oksana and Pran are well-rounded characters with plenty of flaws and morally gray decisions. Their world is unique. Fantasy and science are mixed together in this stand-alone book over a simmering flame: Ready to explode.
February 16, 2021
Lucky 13!
It’s my anniversary! Lucky 13.
Thirteen things I love about my husband:
1. He’s my best friend.
2. He always puts my needs first.
3. He supports my writing.
4. He respects me.
5. He makes me laugh all the time.
6. He is a great dad.
7. He’s super patient.
8. He helps me with my house projects.
9. He is really tall.
10. He’s sooo handsome (it does matter, but shouldn’t be the top of the list).
11. He is a hard worker.
12. He makes me feel happy when I’m near him.
13. He likes LOTR and Star Wars. It does matter.
February 8, 2021
Review: Everything That Burns by Gita Trelease
EVERYTHING THAT BURNS by Gita Trelease
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A sumptuous and thrilling conclusion to Camille’s story set during the French Revolution.
Camille and her sister Sophie now have a home and money; but many other lost girls are less fortunate. Camille helps a flower girl escape the untrue accusations of a nobleman and meets a group of girls that are about to be evicted. She writes their stories to get them support. Meanwhile, both the king and the revolutionaries are calling for the deaths of magicians like her. Revolutionary Paris becomes even more dangerous and Camille has not told Lazare that she is performing magic again.
Lazare continues to be a dynamic and layered love interest (who flies hot air balloons). The romance grows with their relationship. Camille finally accepts who she is and is willing to pay the ultimate price for her beliefs. Author Gita Trelease does a beautiful job of showing how revolutions can begin with hope and ideals, but then end in violence and destruction. She also includes several facts at the end of the book about the French Revolution.
A bloody and beautiful, murderous and magical, romantic and revolutionary book.
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Gita Trelease's Everything That Burns is the transporting sequel to All That Glitters, hailed by NPR as a “soaring success”!
Camille Durbonne gambled everything she had to keep herself and her sister safe. But as the people of Paris starve and mobs riot, safety may no longer be possible...
...Not when Camille lives for the rebellion. In the pamphlets she prints, she tells the stories of girls living at society’s margins. But as her writings captivate the public, she begins to suspect a dark magic she can’t control lies at the heart of her success. Then Louis XVI declares magic a crime and all magicians traitors to France. As bonfires incinerate enchanted books and special police prowl the city, the time for magic—and those who work it—is running out.
In this new Paris where allegiances shift and violence erupts, the answers Camille seeks set her on a perilous path, one that may cost her the boy she loves—even her life. If she can discover who she truly is before vengeful forces unmask her, she may still win this deadly game of revolution.
Published by Flatiron, 2/2/2021
Hardcover | $18.99 | ISBN: 9781250295569
Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble *
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Gita Trelease is the author of All That Glitters (UK Enchantée,) a YA fantasy set on the eve of the French Revolution, and the sequel Everything That Burns. Born in Sweden to Indian and Swedish parents, Gita has lived in New York, Paris, and a tiny town in Italy. She attended Yale College and New York University, where she earned a Ph.D. in British literature. Before writing novels, she taught classes on monsters and fairy tales. With her family, Gita divides her time between a village in Massachusetts and the coast of Maine, where she searches for a secret portal to take her back to Versailles.
February 7, 2021
Drum Roll...the Winners!
Thank you to everyone who participated in Austentines! We hope you had fun.
The Grand Prize Winner is: @reading_for_two
The Second Prize Winners are: @booknookcook04 and @dezroute
February 6, 2021
Your Austentines Title
It’s time to get fancy! Tell us your Austentines title in the comments.
I’m Lady Mae Mint-Creamiely of Riverton 🎩💗🎩💗🎩
#Austentines #JaneAusten #Netflix #PrideAndPrejudice #Bookish #BookLover #AuthorsOfIG #BookNerd #Bookworm #Austentacious #BookParty #MrDarcy #MrDarcyForever #BookLove #AuthorLife #WritersCommunity #ReadAllTheBooks #ReadingClassics #ReadersOfInstagram #AmReading #BookDragon #IdRatherBeReading #ReadingIsMagic #ForTheLoveOfBooks #BookwormsUnite #Readaholic #BooksILove #YABookstagrammer
