Aya M. Productions

I considered not doing this post because I thought it may sound too similar to my "Being a Book Nerd in Hawaii Kind of Sucks" post, but I thought I'd share the struggles I face being a bookseller in Hawaii anyway. This is not to say, I don't enjoy my job. I do! I enjoy being a bookseller. I love my coworkers. I enjoy being around books. I have noticed, however, that working at my new store in Hawaii has a bit more struggles than it did working in Washington, D.C. (Also these are my personal thoughts and do not reflect the thoughts of the company I work for at all. Just thought I'd remind all of you.)

1. Firstly, you are the only major bookstore on the island.

This, of course, means that EVERYONE shopping for books is shopping at your store. You have the serial romance readers that want their monthly copies of Harlequin books. You have the occasional reader wanting to browse the bestsellers. You have the customers that want the absolute most obscure books ever. You, of course, have the students that NEED "x" book at the last minute. You will probably get phone calls from the outer islands as well. & We have the tourists. LOTS AND LOTS OF TOURISTS.

As you can imagine, with the very diverse customer demographic, the phrase "you can't please everyone" comes into play a lot.

2. Be prepared to have  customers complain to you about the closing of other bookstores on a daily basis.

Our only other location closed 2 years ago. Borders closed years before that. People still complain about how the other stores closed every day. I get it. My heart hurt too when they all closed. I'm sorry if we're not near where you live (granted, we are on an island that isn't that big...) or if you hate this particular mall (yeah, this mall is CRAZY BUSY), but there's nothing I can do. I don't have the money to open another store. I don't even get paid enough to move out of my childhood home. Please stop with the complaints. Please...

3. People get mad if you don't have their book and hate that it takes 7-10 business days to get a copy shipped to store.

I'm very sorry if we don't carry your book. We are on an island, in one of the most expensive areas to rent. Therefore, there truly is only so many books we can carry. & I get you may not want to wait 7-10 business days to get a copy, but unless you want to pay express shipping, that's the way it's going to be. You live in Hawaii. There's no such thing as next day delivery from the mainland USA. It's not gonna happen. If you invent teleportation, though, do let me know.

4. You'll get customers with VERY HEAVY ACCENTS or customers that CAN'T SPEAK ANY ENGLISH.

It's a struggle sometimes to understand what customers want. It really is. Especially if they're asking you things over the phone.

5. People will often tell you that we can't close.

Thanks! I hope we don't close too. Although, I really don't have any control over that.

6. You'll also have people that will turn around and announce that they'll just get it on Amazon.

Outwardly you reply "Thanks for stopping in!" On the inside though it's more like "Thanks for not buying anything. If we close IT'S BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU! You're contributing to the downfall of our education system. THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!! What would they do without a bookstore?!?"

If it's a book that we don't carry, fine. Sometimes certain books can only be sold through Amazon. If we don't have it in stock, I get it you may want to shop around for the cheapest price. If you have the book in your hand, though, that's just plain mean.

Overall, I really enjoy working as a bookseller. Like with blogging, there's just something great about sharing the love of books with people, and to actually see people buy a book you've recommended is AMAZING!

I hope you found this entertaining. :) If you're a bookseller, do you have any similar issues?

Note: I received this book for free from Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. I was not paid to write this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I truly wanted to love The Trouble with Destiny by Lauren Morrill, but I couldn’t. The story just felt like it was trying too hard the entire time.

The story started off pretty strong. I liked the premise, and I thought I’d like the main character. She was a bit of an overachiever much like I am. For the first third or so of the book, I truly was enjoying myself. Then things quickly escalated, and she was trying to be like an adult, saving the band all on her own, while also having a romance with a boy she once kissed years ago and dealing with her archenemy/ex-best friend. Yeah… The main character was trying to do too much, which in turn made the plot try to do too much. As you can imagine, things spiraled quickly.

For much of the book, I ended up constantly wondering where the chaperones were and how could they not see that something was terribly wrong. They were there! They existed! They were just absolutely oblivious apparently. I was also frustrated with the main character and her actions. She wanted to be the adult, but she wasn’t acting much like one. I was all very confused.

As for the love interest, I could easily guess who she’d end up with at the end, but I was still wondering why. I didn’t see the chemistry. I also was confused as to why they liked each other in the first place. The romance just didn’t work for me at all. I felt like they just fell together all of a sudden, and I couldn’t figure out why.

Overall, The Trouble with Destiny by Lauren Morrill had a pretty good start, and I truly wanted to love it. The story just ended up doing too many things at once and started falling apart for me. In the end, I skimmed the last third or so just because I wanted to see how the ending played out. The Trouble with Destiny was an okay read. It had me invested enough to want to see how it ended. It just didn’t work all that well for me as a whole but may be perfect for the right reader.

A new year is upon us! That, of course, brings many new releases. :) Here are the books I'm most excited for this month.

1. Never Tear Us Apart by Monica Murphy (1/5) - I truly enjoyed Monica Murphy's One Week Girlfriend, and I'm excited for Never Tear Us Apart. Never Tear Us Apart sounds much, much darker. The main characters are originally connected because of a kidnapping. I'm sure this will be interesting.

2. This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (1/5) - This Is Where It Ends tackles a topic I don't think I've read yet in YA: a high school shooting. I'm interested to see where Marieke Nijkamp takes it. This is definitely a hot button issue these days.

3. Appealed by Emma Chase (1/19) - I mainly want to read Appealed because I enjoyed the previous book, Sustained, so much. (You can check out my review of Sustained here.)

4. The Siren by Kiera Cass (1/26) - I've never read a Kiera Cass book. I've thought about reading the Selection series and own the first book, but I have yet to get around to it. The Siren sounds like a good read though based upon the synopsis. I figured, a stand alone would be a great way to sample the authors writing and determine if I want to commit to a series.

What books are you looking forward to this month?

Note: I received this book for free from Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. I was not paid to write this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s my first review of 2016!! & I’m excited to be sharing Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake with you all. I mean the series is called Library Jumpers. Can’t go wrong with that, right? In all seriousness, Thief of Lies was a fantastic read with an engaging cast of characters and a slew of libraries I wish I could visit.

At first, I found Gia, the female protagonist, to be your typical shy studious girl shadowed by her more glamorous best friend. She just seemed boring. Once Arik entered the picture and she jumped, things sped up fast. Gia turned out to be a strong, brave character with some hidden talents like fencing. It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for. ;)

I did think the fantasy world Brenda Drake created was a bit confusing at first. There’s a lot to learn, and it felt like it was all dumped on me at once. I think I got lost. Although, Gia didn’t seem all that phased by everything. I’m not sure if it was just me or if the word building could have been refined a bit, but I did get confused. I think I understood everything by the end, though.

(I don’t consider this a spoiler simply because of the rules explained early on about Gia’s new world, but some may find this to be a spoiler. I’m sorry in advance if you find this to be a spoiler. I don’t mean it to be.) There is a love triangle (sort of ). Gia has a betrothed because all Sentinals do, and Gia does apparently feel a connection to her betrothed. Honestly, I didn’t feel it. There was no chemistry between her and her betrothed. Now Gia and Arik? There’s lots of chemistry and lots of miscommunication as well.

Now Arik is definitely a guy I could totally get behind. He’s the leader of their group, extremely talented with fire, and doesn’t hesitate to help his team even if it could cost him his life. He’s not perfect and does make mistakes, especially with Gia. Regardless, he’s my favorite guy in the story.

All-in-all, despite my confusion with the fantasy world and my initial hesitation of Gia, I fell in love with Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake and the whole idea of the Library Jumpers series. I can’t wait to read the next installment. (Anyone know when that will be? Let me know!) I’d suggest anyone that enjoys YA fantasy to check out Thief of Lies. Really anyone that loves the idea of defending human kind while in a library should probably check this book out.

Note: I received this book for free from Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. I was not paid to write this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I adore Maya Bank’s romantic suspense novels. When I was approached to read this new series by Maya Banks, I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to venture into her other genres. Erotica isn’t something I read very often, and while I enjoyed reading Mastered by Maya Banks and it started off strong, by the end, I wasn’t in love.

The story started off strong. I liked Evangeline. I liked the mysterious Drake. I even liked all of Drake’s men. Their inner dialogues were a tad bit overly descriptive, but it was entertaining. It was especially hilarious to see Evangeline interact with Drake’s men and their baffled reactions. However, by the middle, the story was a bit at a standstill.

Evangeline and Drake were in a cycle, where she’d have hesitations, he’d get mad and have to explain himself, and they’d have steamy sex. The story ended up being overly descriptive without giving the reader many answers about Drake. Who is Drake? What does he really do? Why is he the way he is? And so on. Plus, I just don’t think there was enough interaction between Drake and Evangeline to make me believe in their relationship beyond the steamy sex.

Overall, I did find the story entertaining for the most part. I especially enjoyed Drake’s men. Mastered alone just didn’t feel like a full story. Would I recommend Mastered? I would to fans of the genre and fans of Maya Banks. I would preface my recommendation, however, with the fact that you should be prepared to wait on book 2, Dominated, which should be out in May according to Goodreads. Because Mastered ended on a cliffhanger and failed to answer a lot of my key questions, I have high expectations for Dominated. I think other readers of Mastered will too. I need answers!

Up on my main blog, I shared some of my bookish and blogging resolutions for the new year. You're more than welcome to check out my original post, but I thought I'd share some of my bookish resolutions here. :)

1. Book Journal. During my move, I fell out of the habit of my book journaling. My goal this year is to get back into the swing of it. I like book journaling because (1) it’s a fun way to look back on the things I’ve read and (2) it immensely helps my review process. I’m also trying out a new system. So we’ll see what happens.

2. Goodreads Goal of 100 books. According to Goodreads, thus far I’ve read 120 books and 32,389 pages. That is AMAZING! With all of my life changes though and the lack of free time, I’ve decided to make my goal 100 books again this year. I think I can do it.

3. Read all of the Sherlock Holmes novels. I want to read more classics, and I’ve decided to focus on Sherlock Holmes this year. I’m also a bit shocked that I haven’t read most of them.

What are some of your bookish resolutions?

I originally shared this on my main blog, but I thought I'd share the love. :) I am so excited to be sharing an excerpt with you today for Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake. I have an eARC sitting on my Kindle waiting to be read, and I'm sure I'll get to it soon!

Synopsis:

Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.

Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.

Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake releases on JANUARY 5th, 2016. & Without further ado, here's an excerpt of Thief of Lies.

EXCERPT:

I pressed the screen, and it went dark. “How do we know he’s not being forced to say this?”

“The password, May Agnes guide you,” Lei replied. “She’s the patron saint of Asile.”

Agnes? That was the silver woman’s name that formed from my globe. Did the saints have something to do with the Chiavi?

I faced Ricardo. “How did you know I was here?”

“The werehounds tracked your scent from a shirt Katy…excuse me, your nana…gave us.”

“Can your pack help us save Couve?” Arik asked him.

“They will, but Gia must go with me.” He noticed the protest forming on my lips. “Merlin said no exceptions. I’m to get you to the shelter.”

From the corridor came yells, scuffles, and the continual wail of the warning siren.

“I can’t go with you,” I said. “I have to fight with them.”

“She can’t fight with us,” Lei said, glancing at the door. “She almost killed Kale.”

I turned to Sinead. “You know what I can do.”

Sinead gave me a pity smile. “Yes, but you have no control over it. Let Ricardo take you to your father and friends.”

I thought of Kale lying motionless, near death, and I hated that she was right. As much as I wanted to stay, I might be more hindrance than help. I caved. “Okay,” I said, defeated. Lei flew out of the room with the Laniars on her heels.

Sinead hugged me, then rushed after them. Arik moved over to me and cupped my face gently in his hands. His eyes held the intensity that always drew me to him.

I swallowed my breath in anticipation. All the sounds around us went silent.

He bent and lightly brushed my lips with a kiss. His lips were soft and oh, so tender. Butterflies swooped and curled inside me, and it felt like the ground disappeared from beneath my feet. He pulled back a little and said, “Regardless of the fact that you’re a royal pain in the arse, I fancy you. Listen to Ricardo and don’t do anything rash.”

He gave me another kiss and rushed out the door. My heart twisted in my chest as he disappeared. I touched my mouth and exhaled. He liked me. It was against the laws, but he told me he fancied me. Maybe we had no future, but we had now.

“What a sweet display,” Ricardo said, dragging me out of my haze. “I’m not one for rules or laws, but I’d be careful there. The punishment would be much worse for him than you.”

 “Why?” I stared at the door as if I’d see Arik there.

“He’s a leader. He knows better.” Ricardo headed to the window. “Are you ready to fly?”

“Did you say fly?”

Enjoyed the excerpt? Here are the preorder links for Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake:

Amazon US | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Kobo | Book Depository | Books a Million

& You can of course also add this title to your Goodreads.

More about the Author:

Brenda Drake, the youngest of three children, grew up an Air Force brat and the continual new kid at school. Her fondest memories growing up is of her eccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was only fitting that she would choose to write stories with a bend toward the fantastical. When Brenda’s not writing or doing the social media thing, she’s haunting libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops or reading someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Note: I received this book for free from Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. I was not paid to write this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s taken me a while to start my review of Cover Shot by LynDee Walker. Why? Well mainly because I was having a really, really hard time writing this review without spoilers, and basically, I’ve given up. So as a fair warning, this review may contain spoilers! You have been forewarned.

Cover Shot by LynDee Walker is the first book I’ve ever read in the A Headlines in High Heels Mystery series. In Cover Shot, Nichelle, a crime reporter for the local newspaper, finds herself wrapped up in the case of a dead doctor. What’s interesting about the case, however, is the fact that the police are being hush, hush about the doctor’s identity, and after finding out the doctor is a well renowned oncologist, the doctor seems to not exist o#n the Internet. Very fishy… Add the case of the dead doctor to her troubles at work, her love life troubles, and the need to beat out the competition, Nichelle has a lot on her hands.

The story itself seemed a bit slow for me. Throughout the story I was just hooked on the case and finding out what happened to the doctor and why. Everything else about the story, I wasn’t very invested in. Whenever Nichelle’s competition was brought up or the issues with her boss, I didn’t feel very invested and wanted to get on with the case. I thought the fact that Nichelle was simply a crime reporter was an interesting take for a cozy mystery. Definitely not something I see everyday in this genre. The case was also something I found to be EXTREMELY INTERESTING. It was actually a topic I had discussed once with friends back in college.

Overall, I found Cover Shot by LynDee Walker to be an intriguing mystery and an interesting take on a murder mystery. I liked Nichelle’s background as a crime reporter and how it played into the story. The story itself was a bit slow for me and included too much of the side issues when I just wanted to move on and have a break in the case itself. I would recommend Cover Shot for fans of cozy mysteries, especially if you have an interest in public health. I can’t wait to see what LynDee Walker thinks of next!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I honestly can't believe it's December already! Time sure flies. Pretty soon 2016 will be upon us. I know I've already started thinking about things I'm hoping to accomplish next year. Have you? Anyways, there aren't a whole lot of books I'm highly anticipating this month.

1. Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom (12/1) - Not If I See You First sounds like a great contemporary with a lead character that is blind. I'm intrigued to see where this goes.

2. See How They Run by Ally Carter (12/22) - It's the second book in the Embassy Row series. I enjoyed the first book All Fall Down and can't wait to see what happens to Grace next. I'm also excited to read more of Noah's humor.

3. What's Broken Between Us by Alexis Bass (12/29) - This definitely sounds like an angsty contemporary read. The main character's brother was in jail for drinking and driving, which caused an accident that resulted in his best friend being dead and girlfriend being permanently paralyzed. Now he's coming home. There's definitely going to be drama here.

What are you excited for this December?

- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Sourcebook Fire is holding a special pre-order promotion for This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp!

Between now and the book’s on-sale date they're giving away "TIME WAS OURS" lanyards, and the chance for one lucky person to win a Polaroid Digital Instant Print Camera! 

There are TWO ways to enter the giveaway:

1 - If you pre-order a copy of This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp, submit your name, mailing address, email address, and order confirmation number via the Rafflecopter widget at http://thisiswhereitendsbook.tumblr.com/extras.

2 - If you have not pre-ordered a copy of This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp, you may enter the giveaway by printing your name, mailing address, email address and the phrase "This Is Where It Ends" on a standard-size postcard and send to: Publicity, c/o Sourcebooks, Inc., 1935 Brookdale Rd., #139, Naperville, IL 60563.

- The Healing Power of Sugar by C.L. Stone

- Charles M. Schulz

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is quickly becoming one of my go to authors. Between her Naturals series and The Fixer, I have yet to go wrong with a Jennifer Lynn Barnes read.The intrigue and mystery she creates has a way of sucking the reader in, creating a page-turner you just can’t put down.

Tess doesn’t really know her sister. She lives in a different state with her grandfather, while her sister is in Washington, D.C. doing who knows what. All she knows is that one day her sister was there wanting to move her to D.C. and the next she was just gone. That made things difficult for Tess when she was finally forced to move in with her sister years later. Add in the fact that she’s in a new school where everyone seems to know more about her sister than she does, the fact that her sister being some sort of fixer means she’s expected to fix problems too, and of course, the suspicious death of a classmate’s father. Tess had more questions than answers all resulting in her own digging, her own fixing, and the collection of a cast of interesting characters to call friends and acquaintances.

There is no romance in The Fixer. Usually, this would be a bit of a deal breaker. I do love at least a bit of romance in all of my books. However, Barnes has a way of keeping me so intrigued with the mystery that I really didn’t care. Plus there is definitely potential for some romance in future installments. You have Asher the hilarious and sarcastic friend that always seems to find trouble, and Henry the friend/acquaintance that is still a bit of a mystery.

I believe, the lack of romance also was able to shine the spotlight on the big question of family. Going into The Fixer, Tess has an estranged relationship with her sister, Ivy. Her sister stopped talking to her after she told Tess that she wanted her to move to Washington, DC. Plus Tess is only now finding out about what Ivy does for a living. So Tess is a bit of an outsider, intruding on this pseudo-family Ivy created with her friends Bodie and Adam. In the midst of all the mystery and intrigue, Tess and Ivy are also trying to fix the relationship that was broken at the beginning of the story. & There are LOTS of twists in the fixing of their relationship as well.

Between the plot-twists, the interesting cast of characters, and the writing, The Fixer was an amazing read. I can’t wait for the next one! There was quite the plot-twist at the end. Seriously, the twists come out of no where ALL THE TIME in The Fixer. I’d highly suggest this read for anyone that loves Jennifer Lynn Barnes or loves YA political thrillers.

Being a book nerd in Hawaii kind of sucks. Why? Well let me tell you.

1. There are hardly any bookstores.

When it comes to those large bookstores, there are only 2 in the state of Hawaii: one on the island of Oahu and one on the island of Maui. Then you have the independent bookstores, which typically sell only used books or a specific genre of books (Hawaii related books/Christian books/Japanese books/etc.). Your choices of bookstores are quite limited.

2. There are libraries, but they don’t have the greatest catalogues.

The libraries in Hawaii really don’t have the greatest catalogues. Want that recently published book? Unless it was a highly anticipated release, you may have to wait a bit to get it. & If they by chance have the book you’re looking for, well you may want to be prepared to be on a wait list. Most of the books I’ve requested thus far have had a wait list. Two of them had a wait list with 5 people in front of me. One of those books wasn’t even a recent release. Yeah… It’s not the best.

3. There are very few Author events.

It’s great that we have author events for Hawaii based authors. Want that recently released true crime novel about crime in Hawaii? There was a signing for that. Or a recently published Hawaiian cookbook? There was probably a signing for that too. Hawaii is known for supporting its own. Popular fiction authors and young adult authors though hardly ever come to Hawaii. Book tours almost never come to Hawaii. So your best bet is to attend author events on the mainland if you want that coveted signed copy from a mainland based author.

4. AIRFARE IS CRAZY EXPENSIVE!

Great! You decided to attend a bookish even on the mainland like yallwest, Book Expo America, or RTConvention! Be prepared to spend quite a bit of your budget on airfare though. & I just checked. Round trips from Honolulu to Chicago costs about $800+ in May for Book Expo America. & Don’t forget, you’re spending an entire day traveling each way due to the flight and multiple layovers. Add airfare to the cost of hotel, convention tickets, books you may purchase, and baggage fees or postage to mail books, you have quite the expense there. Unfortunately, flying is your only option of travel too. At least Google Maps no longer tells you to KAYAK for 14 days to travel from Hawaii to the mainland. Now it just tells you to catch a plane.

Ultimately, every good book nerd knows it’s all worth it. We just have to be much more selective in our choices and save a lot more. At least we have the INTERNET! We can always purchase books online and subscribe to programs like Scribd or Oyster to supplement the lack of offerings of books in Hawaii. It’s also awesome when authors offer signed editions of books to purchase online. We just miss out on the face-to-face interactions, which might actually be beneficial. I know I’m VERY AWKWARD when meeting authors. Oh, but don’t get me started on the difficulties of shipping to Hawaii. We’re part of the United States, but I swear people treat us like a foreign country, like that TSA agent that demanded my passport when I was traveling home from NYC. Yeah, it’s a sore topic.

Anyways, what are your thoughts? Is it difficult to be a book nerd where you live? Or are you lucky enough to live in a place that authors frequent, has tons of bookstores, and awesome library systems? Let me know!