The 2016 Reader/Author Get Together! ( #RAGT16 )

So, as long-time readers might remember, I've been going to the Annual Reader/Author Get Together for the past five (or six?) years. It's a great time, with awesome authors, and excellent charity donations. Every year, Lori Foster sells a benefit book, and all the proceeds go to the Animal Adoption Foundation - a no kill animal shelter, and it happens to be where we adopted our sweet little Mattie! And all the proceeds from raffle tickets go to One Way Farm, a wonderful place that helps kids from rough backgrounds learn to accept help and love, sparing them the abuse most of them have suffered in their lives. So of course, I love to go every year and support these great causes, plus just have a wonderful time with fellow attendees and find new authors!

Authors and publishers sponsor meals and boardrooms, and provide goodies or games throughout the conference. Most of the time, there were so many places I wanted to be at the same time, that I couldn't choose what to do! My mother and I attended a session where we used pictures and phrases cut out from magazines to make our own book cover - and my Mom won! She got a free book, which made her super excited.

And speaking of free books - we got 8 free books in our goody bags (every paid registrant gets a goody bag!), and then I got another 5 free books courtesy of the amazing authors that sponsored our different meals! I cannot wait to read them all, plus all the books I won in different raffle prizes. On top of the free books, and books I won, I also bought a small stack of books from different authors that were either new to me, or ones I had seen previously and wanted to finally pick up one of their books.

I'm still just so excited about last weekend that I can barely form coherent thoughts! I won six, SIX, raffle baskets - one basket alone had twenty books in it! All the baskets are sitting on my living room floor, lined up like soldiers, waiting for me to dive in. I did go through and look at everything, and I am blown away by how generous all the people that donated are.There's jewelry, signed books, coloring books, water bottles/mugs, even some Vera Bradley purses! There was one basket in particular that I was hoping to win, but you know what? I wouldn't trade these amazing baskets for that one. I'm already gathering some books and items to hopefully donate next year.

I was hoping to have some pictures to show you guys, but I'm afraid this has been a very busy week, so I didn't get the chance to take any. I will get some, I promise!

And speaking of pictures, if you're interested in seeing what I'm reading, or any bookish stuff that catches my eye, Novel Addiction now has an Instragram! I can be found at, as I'm sure you can guess, @noveladdiction.

I will update more when my life is a little less hectic - you know, if that ever happens.

Happy Reading!

~!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~

REVIEW: "The Inheritance" by Morgan K. Wyatt

Release Date: May 30th, 2015

Type: Stand alone, Contemporary Romance, Veteran, Sweet-as-heck

About the Book: Melody’s work as a hospice nurse both gives her life purpose and rips her heart out when her patients die. Her latest client left her his lakeside home. After years of living in foster homes, Melody seizes the opportunity for a real home. 

Her happy residence comes to an abrupt halt when her benefactor’s missing nephew, Levi, shows up. A bomb shattered his leg and life, which left him in need of a safe place to figure out the rest of his life. The will leaves the house to both of them, but only if they cohabit for a year. Otherwise, the house goes to a third party. 

Melody detests Levi for never writing or visiting his dying uncle. Levi considers Melody little more than a gold digger similar to his ex-wife. There’s no way he’ll let her have his inheritance. [Description from Goodreads.com]

My Review: I'm going to start this review off with what didn't work for me, that way we can end on the high notes that are what I really enjoyed. The thing that made me second guess myself the entire time I was reading this book was the pacing. It was tough for me to figure out exactly how much time had passed every time we moved to a new scene. Beside that, some of the conclusions that Melody and Levi jump to seemed a little far-fetched. But despite these fall backs, I kept reading because this is a legitimately good story, and I wanted to know what would happen to Levi and Melody.

This is my first book by author Morgan K. Wyatt, but it will not be my last. I like the writing style, and how real her characters feel. Despite the fanciful way Melody and Levi are thrown together (is what his uncle did even legal?) - I loved to see how they would handle such a difficult situation. They felt genuine, and it was fascinating to see how they struggled separately, as well as how they struggled to come together.

At just over 200 pages, this is one of those short-and-sweet books. It was a perfect read for an evening curled up on the couch. And certainly lifted my spirits despite the gloomy weather!

Cover Lovin': Simple, yet elegant.

Recommendation: Definitely a good one-sitting read.

Final Rating: THREE POINT FIVE out of FIVE stars (3.5/5)!! A great read for a gloomy day. The characters felt like good friends and I loved watching their story unfold.

Make sure to get your copy of "The Inheritance" by Morgan K. Wyatt today!

Happy Reading!

~!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. Thanks Morgan!

RAGT15! Reader Author Get Together - After the Magic - Part 2!

So, the post from Tuesday contained books that I received for free while attending the 11th annual Reader Author Get Together. This post, I'll be highlight the books (and their authors) that I bought during the event. It's just so convenient that Barnes and Noble sets up a store in a boardroom featuring books by the attending authors. It's also not so great for my wallet. But definitely worth it!

First up, a picture of my entire haul for the weekend - books both free and paid for, and some (not even all!) of the swag I accumulated. 

Like Tuesday's post, if you click the title of the book, it will take you to Goodreads. Click on the author's name and you will be taken to their website to find all kind of goodies!

A BUCKHORN SUMMER by Lori Foster. Of course we have to start off with the Queen herself! Lori Foster started this event because she wanted a way to connect readers and authors, and have it be affordable. And boy is it! They could charge way more, and you would still get more than your moneys worth in free books, swag, events, and food. While I haven't even read any of the Buckhorn series, I bought this book. You may be asking why (or not, I'm telling you anyways) - that's because this book is only available in print at this event, and all proceeds go to the Animal Adoption Foundation. This is a wonderful no kill animal shelter located about thirty minutes away from me. Not only does Lori support them throughout the year with generous donations, but this event is a great opportunity for Lori to raise even more money for one of their favorite charities. Besides being an animal lover - I absolutely support this because, well, I got my own dog there. Mattie is my best little buddy, and I am so grateful that the Animal Adoption Foundation was there to give her a chance. 

TESLA'S IMPRINT by Kimberly Adkins. Long time readers of this blog will recognize the name Kimberly Adkins. During my blogoversary several years ago, Kimberly Adkins generously donated a prize. One of the cool things about the Reader Author Get Together is that authors are encouraged to sit at tables with new readers, and chat during meals. This is how I met Kimberly. We sat at her table several years ago, and she always makes sure to come say hello every year since. She's a super fun person, and I love her work. She's also a huge Doctor Who fan, and donates nerdy baskets for the benefit raffle at RAGT (all the proceeds from the raffle go to One Way Farm, another amazing charity!). Be sure to check out Kimberly Adkins' website and see what fun paranormal stories she has in store for you. 

MASTERS AT ARMS & NOBODY'S ANGEL by Kallypso Masters. So I first became aware of this author due to the fact she was giving out back scratchers with a funny slogan on it. So during one of the book signings at the event, I decided to have a quick chat and figure out the reading order of her books. For those interested, this book is available FOR FREE on kindle (go here to purchase), but I decided on the paperback version. Why, you may ask? Because I wanted her to sign my book, but most importantly - instead of signing "nice to meet you," this lovely author writes "Great to PERVERT you!" I can't pass that up! Another book I can't wait to sink my teeth into! 

ALIENATED by Melissa Landers. This is one of those books I have had my eye on for so long, and knowing that the author was going to be at the event, I couldn't pass up the chance! Melissa was very kind and fun to talk to, and Alienated will now have a proud place on my bookshelf. I've heard such amazing things about this series, and frankly, I'm ashamed it has taken me this long to take the purchase plunge. 

OWNING VIOLET by Monica Murphy

. I read this book, enjoyed it, and thought the name sounded vaguely familiar. It wasn't until I saw the author list for RAGT that I realized this is the author of One Week Girlfriend, which I obsessed over for months, but also the author of Fair Game, which keeps taunting me every time I look at my kindle wishlist. I did get the chance to meet Monica Murphy and had her sign my favorite author bag (a canvas bag I decorated myself, and currently has a dozen something signatures by favorite authors I have met.. sans John Green who was unable to sign anything but books, alas..). Unfortunately this copy of Owning Violet remains unsigned due to my own poor planning.. but hey, I got to meet her and now I own this book I loved - so who cares!

Last, but oh certainly not least...

BETTER WHEN HE'S BOLD by Jay Crownover. So what if I haven't even read the first book in this series yet? I own it, and now I own a signed copy of the second one. I love Jay Crownover and I'm fairly positive she can do no wrong, so I know Better When He's Bold will be a signing star in my collection. I got to visit with her and take selfies, she signed my bag, and then later signed my book. And when I visited her table at the open signing event, she said "You want some... you know what, I'm not even going to ask - you get goodies!" and gave me plenty of magnets and keychains. If you love some seriously good New Adult and you're desperate for more? You need to read Jay Crownover, for sure! 

Thank you so much for go through my book haul with me! And be sure to check out the above links, not just to the authors and their books, but also to the two charities I mentioned (found under Lori Foster and Kimberly Adkins). 

I already cannot wait until next year. 

Happy Reading!

~!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~

RAGT15! Reader Author Get Together - After the Magic

Hello everyone! So, this past weekend, June 4-6th was the 11th annual Reader Author Get Together, and my 5th year attending! This year was bigger than ever, and I cannot wait to share my haul with you.

I'm going to talk about RAGT in two posts, that way I can highlight as many authors as possible. I was even able to chat with some authors and publishing groups about my blog, so hopefully I will be able to get even more awesome content out to you guys.

Today, I'm going to talk about the free books I got in my goody bag. That's right, FREE. Attendees got 7 (SEVEN!!) free books in their welcome bags, and I can tell you right now, at least two of these were ones I was eyeing to buy on my next book store binge. So let's begin.

So as you see in the above picture, this is the swag I got during the conference. This does not include book covers, business cards, etc - I have those in a separate pile because I need to go through and all them all to my Goodreads To-Read shelf! What you see above are the books and goodies that I got in my bag or got during special events. Included: Earbuds, mirrors, chapstick, bottle openers, bracelets, pins, bookmarks, cups, a wine glass, notebooks, lotion, soap, and so much more! 

Now on to the books. Today I'll be talking about the free books I got. I'm saving the books I purchased for later in the week. Clicking the author's name will take you to their website. Clicking the title will take you to Goodreads for all your TBR needs!

  MIXED MESSAGES by Linda Lael Miller - this includes a bonus book, THE SECRET CHILD & THE COWBOY CEO by Janice Maynard. I've actually never read Linda Lael Miller before, but as a librarian, I have definitely heard the name. And I could see a lot of happy ladies when they pulled this book out of their bags. Also, excuse me while I get a little bit excited that the cover model will be playing Miles Archer in the Ugly Love movie!

BRINGING HOME THE BAD BOY by Jessica Lemmon. I remember seeing this author at the event last year, and after reading the blurb on her newest book, it immediately went into my TBR pile. She was very fun to talk to, and I cannot wait to dig into this book.

SLAVE by Cheryl Brooks. This is a new to me author. I think I was vaguely aware that this series existed, but I had never really come across it anywhere. And now I own it and can read it at my leisure! Not to mention, this is the very first book in the series, so I can start at the beginning! I read a lot of paranormal and contemporary romance. It will be nice to switch it up with some futuristic science fiction romance.

UNDONE by Shannon Richard. Another new to me author, but one I am super excited to check out as soon as possible. Not only am I in love with the cover, but the synopsis on the back got me all revved up - hehe, get it? Because he's a mechanic. Yeah, all right, I'll stick with book blogging and give up comedy, I promise. Another first in the series, so I cannot wait to dive right in. And not so great for me, there is a preview in the back of the book for the next novel - so I'm sure I'll be one-clicking that as soon as I finish the first one.

SLEEPING WITH THE WOLF by Maddy Barone. Another book one! And what a sexy looking book it is. We have contemporaries, a futuristic, and now futuristic paranormal romance. And what can I say, there is just something about werewolf romances - I can't get enough. I love the paranormal genre, romance or no, but I don't think I've read a shifter romance I haven't enjoyed at least a little. And now I have not only a new book, but a new author to sink my teeth into.

So I'll be honest, it wasn't until now that I realized these are all first in the series. Well than goodness! As a reviewer, I have learned to deal with diving right into a series in the middle, if that's how it works out. But I can't help but always feel bad about not starting at the beginning.

CALLUM by Melissa Schroeder. This is one of those books that just feels good. Something about the cover, I don't know. I'm apparently a very tactile person. Another first in a series, and a paranormal to boot. From the synopsis and a brief run through Goodreads reviews, it looks like I am in for a sexy, wild time with this one!

A MANSION, A DRAG QUEEN, AND A NEW JOB by CC Dragon.  Our last book of the morning is the first in the Deanna Oscar Paranormal Mystery series. Well, I'll have to admit, the title sold me in the heart beat. I'm not the biggest mystery fan, but this book looks and sounds like it will be a great time, and I am definitely down for that.

Well, thank you for sticking around for my freebie book haul from RAGT15. Coming up in the next few days will be a list of books I purchased from the event, along with some (okay, maybe a lot?) of fangirling.

Happy Reading! 

~!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~