Little Known Blogs (1): Jennifer @ Little Shelf

Sidenote: I am being featured at In Between Reading and Writing.

Once a month I will be hosting a new feature Little Known Blogs, in order to give the spotlight to blogs that I love that deserve a little more attention. In order to be considered for this feature you must have less than 200 followers and have great content. If you’d like to be considered for this feature please fill out this form.

This month’s feature:

Jennifer over at Little Shelf posted a great comment a few weeks ago and I had to follow it over to see her blog. When I got there I found a great blog! One that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Why did you start your blog?


I needed an outlet to talk more about the books I was reading. I also really wanted a personal place to keep track of the books I was reading and how I felt about them.

Oh, and maybe this one is a bit silly, but I love book covers. I love being able to post them really big and share my love for them!

What is your favorite part of blogging?


Finding others who are just as enthusiastic about books as I am! In my “real life” people will only talk about books so much before they get tired of it. In the blogging community people are endlessly talking about them! I love that book bloggers are great at leaving comments and discussing. It doesn’t feel so lonely!

What book is your current obsession? (The one that you're so in love with at the moment)

The Vampire Academy series.

I really didn’t expect to like it all that much after reading the first book, but it just got so much better as the story went along. Rose grew so much and I was really attached to her and the other characters by the end.

The one thing I’m really missing after finishing the series is Dimitri! I LOVE Dimitri and I’m kind of mourning the loss of getting to see him anymore since I’ve finished. I don’t want to give away any spoilers or anything, so I’ll just leave it at that.

I am really excited for the new spin-off series, Bloodlines. It’s like all of the characters are old friends and I’m excited to see them again! I know I can’t be the only one that gets emotionally attached to fictional characters, right? I mean, they’re real in a way. Right??

My ultimate obsession is Twilight. I know that people knock it, but I really connected with it. It was the first book that I had read in a long time and it really reunited me with my love for reading.

What do you when you aren't blogging or reading?

Well, I am mommy to a fabulous three year old little girl named Charlotte. Most of my day is spent with her!
I really enjoy photography as far as other hobbies go. It’s so challenging! There are so many factors that go into getting a great photograph. I haven’t really been able to go out and practice much lately with all the rain we get in Oregon though. I can’t wait for some warm spring days to get out and shoot!

Please link any posts you'd like to give more attention.

I just got a new bookcase, and I’m pretty excited about it! You can see it in this post.

Jennifer’s Review:
 

I read these two books before I started blogging, so they haven’t gotten the attention that they deserve. I thought I’d review them together because the first book built up the story really well, and then the second book blew me away.

Titles: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble and Toil and Trouble (Books 1 and 2 of the Jolie Wilkins series)

Author: HP Mallory
   
Description for Goodreads:

A self-deprecating witch with the unique ability to reanimate the dead. A dangerously handsome warlock torn between being her boss and her would-be lover. A six hundred year old English vampire with his own agenda; one that includes an appetite for witches. The Underworld in a state of chaos. Let the games begin.

Life isn't bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins. True, she doesn't have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.

Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she's a witch and who just might turn her life upside down. Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost. Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost's demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!

Word of Jolie's incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the Underworld's most wanted list. Consequently, she finds herself at the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a dangerous but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand.

Jennifer’s Review:

Although I’m reviewing both books together, I will not post any spoilers outside of what the description already tells you.

Aren’t the covers of these books super cute? I just adore them!

I bought these books for my kindle. I was looking for a good e-book and these had pretty good reviews and were pretty cheap. I figured they were worth trying and I was pleasantly surprised at how good they turned out to be!

When the first book starts, Jolie is an almost normal girl. She has a bit of a psychic ability and does readings for people, but other than that she lives a pretty boring and normal life.

One day a good looking man comes in and changes everything. It turns out she’s a witch, and he helps her discover this.

The rest of the first book is pretty good. The good looking man, named Rand (who is also a warlock), hires her to do a job and she learns what her abilities are. They turn out to be pretty unique and interesting!

In the second book, we learn more about this magical world that Mallory has built and things start to go a bit crazy! It turns out that the otherworldly creatures don’t quite all get along, and one person in particular wants to rule them all.  On top of that Jolie falls for Rand and their relationship to each other becomes confusing and strained.

Out of nowhere there is a sudden twist in the story, and the story goes from good to amazing. I really loved the second story and what happens to Jolie along the way. By the end of the second book I was completely in love with this story and I am eagerly anticipating the third book in the series. There isn’t a release date yet. I think that anyone could still read the first two without getting frustrated that they have to wait for the next books in the series. It leaves you wanting more without ending in a big cliffhanger or anything.

The second book, Toil and Trouble, is now one of my most favorite books! I won’t give anything away as to why I love it so much, even though I’m dying to discuss it. Go read it and come back and we can talk about it!

Thanks so much for having me on your blog! This was really fun!

Categories: Little Known Blogs, Random