{Review Tour} Aether Psychics series by Cecilia Dominic

{Book Review} THE KENT BROTHERS trilogy by Jaci Burton

The Kent Brothers Trilogy
Jaci Burton
approx 350 pages

Books 1, 2, 3

Goodreads | Amazon

Carina Press

It Just Might Take a Christmas Miracle...

All She Wants for Christmas (The Kent Brothers Book One)
Country singer Riley Jensen would never have returned to her small Missouri hometown if her publicist hadn't come up with the scheme to tape a Christmas special there. So she never would have known that the man who broke her heart at eighteen was now a widower with a seven-year-old daughter. Riley has ten years of angst-filled hit songs and Grammy Awards to prove she doesn't need Ethan Kent. But suddenly, she can't help thinking of all she gave up by running away...

A Rare Gift (The Kent Brothers Book Two)
With a disastrous marriage behind him, Wyatt Kent has no interest in getting involved with any woman, let alone his ex-wife's younger sister. But when Calliope Andrews hires him to build an addition onto her day care center, Wyatt can't help but notice her. But it's going to take a Christmas miracle for Wyatt to put his trust in love a second time.

The Best Thing (The Kent Brothers Book Three)
A year ago, Tori let her guard down and Brody Kent slipped right in, planting one hot, unforgettable kiss on her in a dark corner at the company Christmas party. Though the kiss surpassed her wildest dreams, she can't let it happen again--Brody's got a reputation for loving and leaving. And he'll have to get creative if he wants to convince Tori that he's a changed man.

 Disclaimer: I received a copy of this trilogy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ahhh, this was so much fun. I love having little stories like this together in a bundle. You get to move from one brother to another, which means cameos from previous couples and one helluva lovely story all together.

I think the first story was my favorite, with Riley & Ethan. High school sweethearts, broken up by a jealous friend, and yet in the end, it is all about forgiveness and love.

From there, we got Wyatt's story. Married to the wrong woman, bitter after a divorce, and then he finds love with his ex wife's sister who ultimately brings them back together with closure while keeping Wyatt.

And finally, Brody. Brody is the manwhore. The one with the reputation. Sparks constantly fly between him and the Kent brothers' office manager, Tori. Until Brody kisses Tori at the Christmas party and screws everything up...but it sets off the chain of events to see if they're perfect for one another.

Christmas is coming and this set is perfect for the romance lover in your life. Sweet romances, sexy leads, and happily ever afters! Merry Christmas! 

{Book Review} IN YOUR DREAMS by Kristan Higgins

Book Title: In Your Dreams
Author: Kristan Higgins
Publisher: Harlequin
Publishing Date: Sept 30 2014
Length: 480 pages
Source: Print ARC from Publisher

Book Blurb
Emmaline Neal needs a date. Just a date—someone to help her get through her ex-fiancé's wedding without losing her mind. But pickings are slim in Manningsport, New York, population 715. In fact, there's really only one option: local heartthrob Jack Holland. Everyone loves Jack, and he won't get the wrong idea…. After all, Jack Holland would never actually be interested in a woman like Em. Especially not with his beautiful ex-wife creeping around, angling to reunite ever since he rescued a group of teens and became a local hero.

But when the wedding festivities take an unexpectedly passionate turn, Em figures it was just one crazy night. Jack is too gorgeous, too popular, to ever end up with her. So why is she the one he can talk to about his deep, dark feelings? If Em is going to get her dream man, she'll have to start by believing in him…

Disclaimer: I received a print copy of this book for my honest review. No other compensation changed hands.

 When I had the opportunity to receive an ARC from Harlequin, I jumped at the chance. Not only do I love Harlequin Teen publications, but I've been a Harlequin fan since I first discovered romances back when I was in Junior High. Oh yes, I quickly graduated from Sweet Valley High to Harlequin books and was pleased as punch to receive fancy wine glasses with my orders!

I'm used to the quality of Harlequin novels and love that each one is a lovely little escape as I follow the romance of the couple involved. Kristan Higgin's' IN YOUR DREAMS was no exception to the lovely romances I'm used to reading from Harlequin.

Emmaline's ex, Kevin, was SUCH an incredible douchebag. You really just wanted to reach through the book and smack him one. Jack Holland was simply perfect, even when I'm making faces at the book as I urge him to declare his feelings for Emmaline. I do adore premises that include a wedding of an ex and a fake date. I love the back story of Emmaline and the issues she has with her parents and I adore the fact that she adores her adopted sister, whom she truly did not spend time with growing up as they were separated.

You really feel like you're part of this small town as you read this book. Jack's family, Emmaline's family, everyone knowing everyone's business, etc., and watching Emmaline fall for Jack and vice versa was sweet and lovely. And of course...the animal lover that I am, I adored Sarge. :) 

Goodreads | Amazon

{Blog Tour} E-DAY by D.T. DYLLIN -- with excerpt!

{Blog Tour} Shadow Wars HOMEBOUND by Ursula Sinclair

{Happy Release Day!} A Tooth for a Fang by Liv Olteano

{Book Review} WHAT DREAMS MAY COME by Beth Honeycutt

Book Title: What Dreams May Come (In Dreams #1)
Author: Beth Honeycutt
Publisher: indie
Publishing Date: May 28, 2014
Length: 249 pages
Source: author in exchange for an honest review

Reality is overrated. Or so Ellie Cross has always believed.

Ellie is an ordinary, nothing-special girl who feels invisible most of the time. She’s the kind of girl who would loan her lunch money to anyone, but she’s definitely not the kind of girl to get noticed. Well, except by her mom, who constantly nags her not to be such a dreamer, and the class bully who makes her life miserable. It’s kinda grim for a girl who’s already painfully shy and all-too-aware that she “takes work.”

But Ellie has a best friend, someone she can turn to whenever she has a problem. Well, some might call him an imaginary friend, since they’ve never actually met outside of dreams.

And, sure, Ellie knows it’s kinda weird to have a friend no one else can see, but since her real-world friends currently number one, she figures an imaginary friend can only improve her social life. Even better, since he isn’t real, she can tell dream-guy-Gabe anything, without ever worrying that he’ll ditch her for someone cooler or embarrass her by blabbing her secrets. And so what if she happens to have an itsy-bitsy crush on her reality-challenged friend? Who’s it hurting, really?

But things are about to get complicated, because there’s a new guy in school—a guy with hauntingly familiar eyes. A guy who knows things about Ellie that he shouldn’t have any way of knowing…

Goodreads | Amazon

 I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Getting the book for free did not affect my review and no other compensation was offered or accepted.

Sweet. Clean. Teen. Romance. Those four words describe this book perfectly. Ellie has been dreaming of a guy named Gabe since she was a young child. While she has told her parents that the dreams have stopped, she still sees him when her emotions are high and they meet in dreams. His face is never clear to her even when she is staring at him full-on, but she remembers his eyes and all the emotions she has read in them...

When there is a new kid at school named Gabriel, Ellie is fascinated by him as he walks through the door of her classroom. She has this feeling she has met him before. When she makes eye contact, she is startled, but she kinda thinks she's going crazy...Dream Guy can't be real even if their names are similar, right?

As we follow Ellie and Gabriel's friendship, more and more information comes to light. I absolutely adore Ellie's BFF and how she has always believed in Ellie. And she also offers the possibility that this could scientifically happen in the world of probabilities. The story develops further and more information comes to light and you end with this sweet little sigh as it does. Destiny. Meant-to-be. Dream Guy. Dream Girl. Connections. Very, very lovely and romantic. 

{Blog Tour} Fallen by Laury Falter

{Book Review} OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon

Book Title: Outlander
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
Publishing Date: June 1991
Length: 870 pages
Source: Borrowed from my mom

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives

GOODREADS | AMAZON

Why did I wait so long to read this? Years ago my friend, Jen, told me to read this. I said, YES YES I HAVE BEEN MEANING TO! I even checked out the first three books from the library. But I never got around to picking it up. She reminded me again and again, and I went and bought the first three books. I gave them to my mom who raved about them and asked why I hadn't read them yet. *shrugged* I had a huge TBR and was going through them. Wasn't feeling a long series. I dunno.

*slaps self repeatedly*

So, since the show is coming out and the premier was offered for free, I decided to watch the premier. Hold the phone. God this sounds good! I should read it!

I don't have Starz, so I'm not going to be able to watch the rest until the first season is up and on netflix or something so NOW IS THE TIME. Called mom, picked up book, opened to the first page. Hissed, clawed, and growled at anyone who tried to interrupt me.

Claire Randall neé Beauchamp is on a second honeymoon of sorts, getting to know her husband again after six years apart due to the war. It's 1945. Claire worked as a nurse while her husband was abroad. To say that the war has changed them would be an understatement. As Frank's passion is genealogy, they are in Scotland tracing the route of his ancester Black Jack Randall when he was a dragoon commander in the highlands, two hundred years ago. And so the story begins. When Claire and Frank discover a stone circle and witness a druid ceremony, they are enchanted. Claire is interrupted before she can discover what that flower she saw was. She goes back the next day, touches one of the stones, and falls through time. She is at first convinced that she is watching a re-enactment or a movie being shot. But it becomes more and more clear that she is no where near 1945.

And so this tale revolves around Claire in the 18th century. She finds herself hostage/a guest of a scottish clan and inexplicably drawn to one James Fraser, nephew to the chieftain and a laird in his own right. Circumstances require that she marry him and suddenly she now has two husbands.

Let me tell you, ladies. From the brief description and interactions with Frank, from the get go you want her to choose Jamie. And I was SO frustrated with how she kept being a wishywashy about returning to Frank, returning to Frank, returning to Frank, when Jamie has done nothing but demonstrated that he puts her first. Not to mention, Jamie is very alpha, Frank is very not. This may be unfair to Frank as we haven't explored his character much in this book, but I'm one of those "it happened for a reason." I was so incredibly happy when she makes her decision. But then there is more heartache and danger and turmoil lurking about in the form of Frank's ancestor, Black Jack Randall.

Oh, he's hideous. He makes your skin crawl. He's vile. And you'll be brought to tears when Jamie comes to the rescue, and again when Claire comes to the rescue, and again when Claire understands and helps with the internal healing.

Wonderfully written, no grammatical errors, prose that flows, language that is salty and appropriate to both time periods, laughter as you read this romance and Jamie is asking things like "Who is John Wayne?" and Claire answers, "You." With a plot full of action and tension and anticipation, with betrayals and romance, with adorable conversations between characters, this is immediately on my favorites list, my re-readable, my kindle-bruiser, and one I look forward to reading again...after I finish the series of course. 

{Book Review} MISS HYDE by Imogen Bold

Book Title: Miss Hyde
Author: Imogen Bold
Publisher: Night Bloom Books
Publishing Date: June 2014
Length: 308 pages
Source: purchased via amazon

From the winner of the James D. Phelan Literary Award, comes the sensational sequel to "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, " set in a Vienna like no other, where fantastical inventions grace the halls of the World's Fair and anything is possible-even complete physical transformation.

"All she wants is a holiday. Instead she gets a new life."

On a spring day in 1873 Marion Jekyll arrives by train in Vienna for her holiday, escaping a life in London that oppressed her and painful memories she buried as a child. She is nineteen and under the charge of her officious legal guardian, who is in Vienna on mysterious business, with Marion in tow. She has been but few things in her short life-an orphan, a bastard, an epileptic-but in Vienna she is an exciting stranger whose horizons are about to expand.

It is here, under the glittering lights of old Vienna, in a time when political unrest rules the day and cafes teem with secret meetings at night, that Marion encounters a young man she never dreamed to find. It is only here, where mesmerists plumb their patients' psyches, digging for for hidden truths, that Marion unleashes a powerful side of herself in a fight for her very life.

GOODREADS | AMAZON

This was a wonderful what-if tale that spins off of the well-known tale of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Imogen Bold whisks us away to Vienna with Ms Marion Jekyll and her chaperone (Miss Krummacker) and guardian (Mr Utterson). While out with her chaperone, Miss Krummacker, she is mistaken for someone else and she suddenly just knows her double is somewhere in Vienna. When she finds her, they agree to switch places for a day to see how the other lives. But her double never comes back at the appointed time, throwing Marion into a whirlwind of unexpected happenings...

I really enjoyed this 'continuance' of Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde story. Marion and Irina are twins, daughters conceived during an affair between their mother and Dr Jekyll when he was last in Vienna. The mother accidentally took the Duobov serum and so they inherited the condition and then had it exacerbated by the serum. Split at birth, Dr Jekyll took one daughter with him to England and employed an Austrian nanny, making sure that Marion spoke flawless German as well as English. Irina, on the other hand, had an English nanny -- quite a la mode for the Count and Countess. As Marion discovers her dual nature and starts to befriend Miss Hyde, we are plunged into a world of intrigue, selfishness, and politics.

The clockwork metal roses that contains your lover's scent was a delicate and lovely touch. Marion's innocence and thoughts are quite endearing and immediately drew me in to follow her story. Action, romance, suspense, betrayal, this was quite the read! 

{Cover Reveal} TEMPTED BY A ROGUE PRINCE (Eternal Mates Romance Series Book 3) by Felicity Heaton

Tempted by a Rogue Prince (Eternal Mates Romance Series Book 3)
Felicity Heaton
An elf prince on the verge of losing himself to the darkness, Vail is maddened by the forty-two centuries he was under the control of a witch and forced to war with his brother. Now, he roams Hell seeking an escape from his terrible past and the heads of all who bear magic. When demons of the Fifth Realm capture him, he sees a chance to end his existence, but when he wakes in a cell to a beautiful female, he finds not death but his only shot at salvation—his true fated mate.

Captured by the enemy of the Third Realm when the war ended, Rosalind has spent months in the cells of the Fifth Realm with her magic bound, forced to heal the new king’s demon warriors, and haunted by the lives she has taken. When she’s brought to heal an unconscious man, she discovers her only hope of escape has come in the form of her worst nightmare and the first part of a prediction that might spell her doom—a devastatingly handsome and dangerous dark elf prince.

Unwilling to fall under the control of anyone ever again, Vail must escape before the Fifth King can use him as a pawn in a deadly game of revenge, but he cannot leave without Rosalind, the woman who looks at him with dark desire in her stunning eyes and awakens a fierce hunger in his heart. A witch who drives him mad with need even as the darkness within whispers she will enslave him too.

Can Rosalind escape her fate as they embark on a journey fraught with danger and resist the temptation of her rogue elf prince? And can Vail overcome the memories that madden him in order to seize his chance for salvation and the heart of his fated female forever?

Pre-order links and a first chapter preview of Tempted by a Rogue Prince are available at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/tempted-by-a-rogue-prince-paranormal-romance-novel.php

Tempted by a Rogue Prince is due for release in ebook and paperback on August 9th 2014 and will be available from all major online book retailers.

Join Felicity’s mailing list to receive a notification when Tempted by a Rogue Prince is released, PLUS a sneak preview of the first 6 chapters of the book and chances to win a signed copy: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/newsletter.php

Add the book to your Goodreads shelf at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20940832-tempted-by-a-rogue-prince

Books in the Eternal Mates paranormal romance series:

Book 1: Kissed by a Dark Prince

Book 2: Claimed by a Demon King

Book 3: Tempted by a Rogue Prince

Book 4: Hunted by a Jaguar – coming in 2015

About Felicity Heaton:

Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

Website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk

Blog: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/blog/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/felicityheaton

Twitter: http://twitter.com/felicityheaton

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton

{Blog Tour} The Night of Elisa by Isis Sousa -- with review

 

{Blog Tour} SURRENDER THE SKY by Meradeth Houston --- with review and giveaway

Surrender the Sky by Meradeth Houston
Publication date: May 2nd 2014
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

{Book Review} THE CASQUETTE GIRLS by Alys Arden

Book Title: The Casquette Girls
Author: Alys Arden
Publisher: fortheARTofit publishing
Publishing Date: October 31, 2013
Length: 512 Pages
Source: Read 4 Review via Xpresso Book Tours

Book Blurb:

After the Storm of the Century rips apart New Orleans, Adele Le Moyne and her father are among the first to return to the city following the mandatory evacuation. Adele wants nothing more than for life to return to normal, but with the silent city resembling a mold-infested war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal will have to be redefined.

Events too unnatural – even for New Orleans – lead Adele to an attic that has been sealed for three hundred years, and the chaos she unleashes threatens not only her life but everyone she knows. Mother Nature couldn’t drain the joie de vivre from the Big Easy, but someone or something is draining life from its residents.

Caught suddenly in a hurricane of eighteenth-century myths and monsters, Adele must quickly untangle a web of magic that links the climbing murder rate back to her own ancestors. But who can you trust in a city where everyone has a secret, and where keeping them can be a matter of life and death – unless, that is, you’re immortal.
Goodreads | Amazon

 This book snuck up on me. That's the first sentence that comes to mind when I'm trying to describe how I felt as I read. I requested this book through a review program with Xpresso Book Tours and was granted a copy in exchange for an honest review. This book exceeded my expectations!

I requested it because I was intrigued by the title and the setting of New Orleans. I know the story of The Casquette Girls very, very vaguely and was interested in a story based on them. What I got was a story that highlights the devastation of Katrina, the emotions of a young girl, magic, rich history told via a walking tour, and a glimpse of both past New Orleans and current New Orleans.

This book falls under the YA Paranormal Romance labels, but if you're not a normal reader of YA, I urge you to pick this up anyway. It is delightfully intricate, weaving a story around the past, the current, and a main character, Adele, who is very much a sixteen year old girl. With confusion about the sudden attention from boys, you would expect her to be annoying, but instead I found her quite charming.

It was hard to put this book down to tend to everyday life. Intriguing with layers of mystery, history, legend, and romance, there wasn't a single moment where I became bored. The characters are rich and charming; even the villainous characters are likable and have depth! I must say...this book made me want to run to New Orleans and find a little mystique and romance of my own. I was utterly enchanted. 

{Cover Reveal} Tik Tok Press presents D.T. DYLLIN!!!

Presents

 

Title: E-Day 

Author: D.T. Dyllin 

Series: M-Day #2 

Genre: Dystopian Romance 

Publisher: Tik Tok Press 

Cover artist: Lindsay Tiry 

Expected Release Date: August 2014

 

Synopsis: M-Day was the dawn of a brand new harsher world. A world where old lives could be left behind and secrets buried for good. At least that’s exactly what Tammie Miles had planned. But even with her new identity as Evo, she discovers that your past is never far. When a man from her old life tracks her down, will she risk everything to keep her secrets? Or will she finally learn that maybe even she can love the right man?

 

Title: AleXXXa 

Author: D.T. Dyllin 

Series: Standalone 

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance 

Publisher: Tik Tok Press 

Cover artist: Lindsay Tiry 

Expected Release Date: August 2014

 

Synopsis: Love and sex, sex and love… Can you have one without the other? As a world famous porn star, Alexa James thinks she has everything all figured out. But what happens when someone who gets paid to have sex has an existential crisis? Suddenly sex isn’t enough, and love seems out of reach. Will Alexa’s career choice permanently crush her spirit? Or will she discover that real love is about more than just the physical?

About the Author

D.T. Dyllin is a Bestselling Romance Author who writes in both New Adult and Adult genres. She is a member of the RWA (Romance Writers of America) and also her local chapter, the MCRW (Music City Romance Writers).

 D.T. was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Black & Gold for life, baby!) She now lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and two spoiled GSDs.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

{Blog Tour} OBSIDIAN EYES by A.W. Exley with review and giveaway!

{Happy Release Day} DEVIL'S ISLAND by Mimi Sebastian!

Captain Boone Wilder leads a cadre of powerful and notorious pirates that rule the West Indies. He’s survived the cutthroat’s life, bearing the scars to prove it. Fearless, he seeks only the freedom of the seas and an enemy he’s hunted with a vengeance for years. When Boone waylays a fat merchant vessel bound for Port Royal, he discovers more than he bargained for in the luscious bounty of Miss Sabine Tanner. But Miss Tanner hides more than tempting curves in her skirts. When Boone finds her sneaking about the Port Royal taverns, meeting with dubious captains, he’s determined to learn what devious game she’s playing.

The daughter of a condemned pirate captain, Sabine Tanner took to the seas to clear her father’s name and locate his legendary treasure. When her ship bound for Port Royal is boarded, she’s captured by the sun-bronzed, muscular Captain Wilder. While the man is dangerously attractive, she knows from experience that Wilder is nothing but a scabrous bilge rat. Circumstances force her to sail with the scoundrel to find her father’s ship, lost on the phantom Devil’s Island. Driven by opposing agendas, will they survive the hidden truths, or does their greatest threat lie with each other?


I had the honor of beta reading this and cannot wait to read the finished copy! This was SUCH a wonderful tale, full of adventure, with period accurate descriptions that are so vivid and rich, you are whipped back in time to what could be a real pirate ship. I wanted to be Sabine! ~Tiffany

Mimi Sebastian raised herself on books and the strange and unusual, and an unhealthy dose of comics and movies. When a career as a punk guitarist failed to materialize, she completed her degree in urban planning, spent two years in the Ivory Coast with the Peace Corps, and another three years in Brazil. By day, she debates the merits of transport oriented development, by night she writes about necromancers and pirates. She’s convinced she could live off coffee, ice cream, and comic books, but is sure only one of those is good for her health.


She's a member of Romance Writers of America and the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapter of RWA. A transplant from the beaches of Florida, Mimi now wanders the desert in Phoenix, AZ, and attempts to balance writing with a day career, fantastic family, and household diva: her Amazon parrot.

{Blog Tour} The Agent's Daughter by Ron Corriveau -- with review and giveaway!

{AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT} Julia Crane

Hello my lovely readers! As you may or may not know, January marks the end of the first year of book blogging for me. To celebrate I am throwing a Facebook party at the end of the month on the 29th and you are ALL invited! There are prizes to be won, games to play, and fun to be had, all while in your jammies if you like! :) I've connected with some amazing bloggers, readers, and authors over the past year! Today, I'd like to spotlight one of the authors donating a prize to my readers for my blog's birthday! 

Today's spotlight is the wonderful JULIA CRANE! 

{Author Spotlight} LIZZY FORD

Hello my lovely readers! As you may or may not know, January marks the end of the first year of book blogging for me. To celebrate I am throwing a Facebook party at the end of the month on the 29th and you are ALL invited! There are prizes to be won, games to play, and fun to be had, all while in your jammies if you like! :) I've connected with some amazing bloggers, readers, and authors over the past year! Today, I'd like to spotlight one of the authors donating a prize to my readers for my blog's birthday!