Book Review: Born of Betrayal

image: amazon.com

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What would you do in the name of family loyalty?  Would you give up dessert?  Would you move out of the area?  Would you leave the person you love most in all of the world and move to another planet?

Years ago, Fain Hauk made the choice.  Family loyalty above all else.  Given the choice of watching his younger brother die a slow, tortuous death or leaving the woman he loved, he chose to save his younger brother.  But he never told the woman he loved why he left her.  He allowed her to think he was having an affair with another - a human no less - and walked away from the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Betrayed and humiliated, Galene Batur vowed vengeance against Fain.  Disowned by her family for the secret she carried, Galene made her own way in the world.  She became a commander in the military.  While she continued to hate Fain, she assumed that his life had been easy and comfortable ever since he walked away from her.

But fate can be a cruel and heartless bitch.

Galene and Fain find themselves thrown into an unexpected alliance when their respective alliances throw them together to forge a truce and keep the peace.

Galene begins their encounter by shooting Fain in the chest the first moment she sees him.

And Fain finds that none of his feelings for Galene have been lessened by time or distance.

As Fain and Galene strive to work together, Fain discovers the true secret that Galene has kept hidden from him for all these years.

And Fain discovers that despite his fearless reputation, he finally has something to fear.

Something to love more than life itself.

While the worlds crumble around them, Fain works desperately to save the most precious and valuable things in the entire universe.

 NOTE- This book contains adult themes and adult situations.

Book Review: Divergent

amazon.com

Imagine a world where everyone chooses a faction - a home where they belong for life - when they are 16 years old.  Each faction has a specific job in life.  A specific knowledge or trait that they value above all others.


The Erudite value intelligence.  The Dauntless treasure valor and fearlessness.  Amity values peace.  Candor values honesty.  Abnegation are selfless.  Once you choose a faction on graduation day, you are a member of that faction for life. You will put your faction above all else, even family.  Every person shows an aptitude for a certain faction.  During the graduation tests, they find which faction best matches them.  They are free to choose any faction, but the tests help them see where they would best fit in.

But, what if?  What if you don't fit into any one faction?  What if the tests don't work for you?  What if you don't fit the mold? 

You are Divergent.... and the Divergent are considered to be dangerous and outside of the control of the faction.  The Divergent are hunted down and killed when they are found.  Their deaths are explained away as accidents or suicides.

Beatrice Prior grew up an Abegnation.  When she takes the tests, her results come back with a scary answer.  She is warned that she is Divergent, and that she must guard this secret with her life.  With no true faction affiliation showing in her nature, she will be choosing whichever faction will make her happy.

What will she choose?  Will she choose a life of selflessness?  A life of danger?  One of constant honesty?  If she chooses outside of her faction, she will never again be a part of her family, and her choice could bring shame to her family.

The choices you make define who you are...

*This review is cross-posted on my YA book blog, Books for Teens.*  

Manic Monday

Where to begin?

Daughter's tooth got massively infected last week. We spent days in the dentist office.  One appointment to diagnose, followed by tons of antibiotics.  Root Canals, a crown, and an unexpected trip to the Oral Surgeon for a consult before the root canal was done.

We headed down to Virginia to spend a day with my Mom over the weekend. She turned 85 earlier this week.  We had a FANTASTIC time with her!  We spent the day talking about everything and nothing.  We went out to lunch at Bob Evans, where we had the most fantastic meal with the most wonderful waitress.  What a great day we had!  So much fun, so fortunate to have more time with my Mom. 

Work last week was interesting.  Most days I love my job, but last week, I didn't quite so much enjoy it.  Maybe 1 out of the 5 days was a good one.  I'm hoping that next week is a better week. 

I had a unique problem this past week.  I have read two fantastic books in a week.  I finished Divergent, and then I read Born of Betrayal.  Both books were fantastic, and I couldn't put either book down.  Born of Betrayal was written by Sherilyn Kenyon.  I've read other books by her, and she weaves a compelling story.  This book did not disappoint. I was forcibly pulled into her world and did not surface again until I had finished the book.  I'll be posting reviews for both books later this week, but wanted to put a note about them here.  I wanted to point out one more thing that I'll point out again in the reviews.  While Divergent is a Young Adult book, with themes appropriate for teens, Born of Betrayal is definitely an adult book, with adult themes and adult language.  Keep that in mind.

One last thing to point out:  more Primary voting takes place this week.  If you live in one of the states that is voting, PLEASE get out and vote.  Every vote does count.  But, I can hear one or two people saying "But my favorite candidate has already dropped out.  Why should I go?"  Go and vote!  Vote for your candidate if he's on the ballot.  Vote for your second choice.  Keep in mind - the candidates do get candidates who will cast their votes behind another candidate at the convention.  Your vote could be crucial if the race comes down to a very close heat between two candidates.   No matter what, remember - YOUR VOTE COUNTS.  EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE.  THE PRIMARIES ARE IMPORTANT.

Take care everyone!  Have a great week!  Stay safe and hug your loved ones tight!

Hyundai First Date Commercial

My favorite commercial of the night.  Maybe because I have a daughter? 

Ponder This...

source: Facebook, Intellectual Take Out

An Interesting Couple of Days

Daughter woke up on Tuesday with the right side of her face very swollen.  Her mouth hurt a lot, and we just assumed that it was her wisdom teeth coming in, but made an appointment with the dentist to see what was going on.

We got into the office, and found out that she had a huge abscess in her tooth - upper right side.  And it had spread, fast.  The abscess itself had ruptured into her mouth earlier in the day, so all of the infection was draining down her throat.  The infection itself is raging in her jaw - dangerously close to her brain.

The dentist drained more, and packed her up with antibiotics.  And sent her home with still more antibiotics.

She has a root canal scheduled for Monday.  They don't want to do anything until the infection and swelling goes down.

In the meantime, she's miserable. She's not very hungry.  Applesauce is about all she's been wanting to eat (drink) the past couple of days.

Keep an eye on your teeth, peeps.  Her last check up was in early September, and she's vigilant about brushing and flossing.  Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, these things happen.

2016 Resolutions - February Update

Resolutions.  We make them, and then we forget them.  I'm just as guilty of this as everyone else.  I began keeping track of them last year, in an attempt to force myself to come back and look at what I promised myself I'd do, and then DO it.  I sound like the Nike commercial, don't I?

Every year, my resolutions vary.  They are a list of things that I'd like to do - and things that I need to do.  Since I've begun keeping track of my resolutions on this blog, I've done a significantly better job of keeping my resolutions than I ever did before.  I'm very proud of the job I've done accomplishing things since I began posting this publicly!


1) Remodel the Hall Bathroom

Third year is the charm, right?

2) Improve my Health
For 2 years now, my goal has been to lose weight.  Over the last two years, I have lost weight.  But I need to lose more weight.  Instead of focusing on the number on the scale, I am going to focus on some larger goals that are a bigger indication of overall health.

a) Lose inches off of  my waist.
This year, my goal is to lose 3 inches off of my waist before the end of the year.
1/4 of an inch gone, in one month.  That was an awful lot of work for only one quarter of an inch.....

b) Get my blood pressure down into the normal-normal range.
My next check up isn't until April... so, this will be the test.  Will I get lectured in April, or will my blood pressure be at the point that nobody thinks twice?  We'll soon find out!

c) Go down at least one clothing size. 
Working on this.... I've lost inches, or fractions thereof all over this month.  Not enough to go down a size, but enough to make my clothes a little bit looser on me!

3) Re-Start my Vegetable Garden
Garden catalogs!  Oh my!  I love my garden catalogs!

4) Learn to Pressure Can
Need to find a pressure canner.

5) Daughter's Quilt
I have a pile of fabric.  A great big pile of fabric squares.  I need to cut a few more squares before I can get moving on this.

6) Clean Out and Organize the Carport
I didn't move fast enough on this before the snow hit!  But, we did get things cleared out enough that the woodpile isn't a problem.  At the rate we're burning wood this winter, we should be able to

7) Exercise Consistently
With the exception of the days we snowed in, I've been exercising an average of five days a week.  I feel better than I have in a long time, and a bonus side effect?  I was able to shovel snow for hours at a time with a minimum of muscle aches when we finished.

8) Clean Out 23 Things Each Week

Here's a humbling number - 23 Things, every week for 52 weeks?  That's 1,196 things I plan on taking care of this year.

We had a huge haul of stuff that went out of the house after being snowed in for the better part of a week. A bag of books (20 books) to the Used Book Store for a trade in for credits, and 2 boxes plus a bag full of stuff for the thrift shop, and another bag full of craft supplies for the art department at the high school.  Total number of items that went out in this load: 150+.  (I gave up after 150... why keep counting?) I'm going to hit up 1,200 things before I know it if I keep going at this rate.

Items Out of the House This Month: 323
Big Black Trash Bags: 2



9)Participate in the NoSpenduary Challenge
I found this challenge last year on a wonderful little blog entitled Frugal, Debt Free Life.  In short, aside from bills and the gas that is required to get to and from work, you spend no extra money during the month.  No Starbucks runs.  No fast food.  NADA.  I am curious to see how this pans out for us!

This is extra timely as the van went in for an oil change and came out with repairs totaling over $1500.  We were able to scrape together enough cash to pay for the repair, but the savings account needs to be replenished NOW!

10) Visit One Place on my Bucket List
Phase One: completed

11) Get at least half of the CEU's I need to keep my teaching  and my library certificate.
I'm taking a class right now.  3 CEU's out of the 6 I need to renew my certificates.
Best of all?  The class is free, offered through a library association.  (OK, I do pay dues for the library association, so I am technically paying for the class.  BUT, I'm not paying any additional money for the class.)

12) Scrapbooking
I need to catch up.  I know I had years that I didn't do this.  I went through all of the albums this month and found the years that I have not yet finished.  These are the years I am in search of:
2006
2009
2010
2011
2012
2015 - Let's start where I am now.  I just finished this album while we were snowed in!

This is going to be fun.  From 2009 on, we had a digital camera.  Those pictures will be easy to find.  2006 was all paper photos.  6 years.  Can I get them all done before the end of the year?  Let the challenge begin!

13) Walk or Bike a portion of at least 6 Rail Trails
Did not happen this month!  Maybe if I had snowshoes I could have had some interesting adventures?


14) Pay off the big debt and one smaller one-
NoSpenduary!  The goal is to pay off the balance of the big debt at the end of the month.

15) The Recipes Tab
After a lot of work this month, I got the recipe tab organized.  While I don't have the pictures to accompany every recipe, I do have the recipes organized.


What are your resolutions for this year?  What kind of progress are you making towards your goals?