Gizmos Reviews - 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Days 13, 14 & 15

Thanks to April from Good Books and Good Wine for creating this challenge!

It's been interesting to read other bloggers responses, as well as trying not to sound lame.

Day 13 Challenge - Describe one under-appreciated book Everyone should read!

My choice is actually the entire H&W Investigations series featuring Shiarra Wynest who has come a very long way since her debut in Hunted By The Others. This series is one that actually gets better with each passing release. I love the later covers as well! I love that fact that the series contains sexy vampires, werewolves, warlocks known as Others. Shiarra is a character that continues to grow and learns more about herself and becomes much more tolerant towards the Others even taking several of them as lovers.

  

 

Day 14 Challenge - Tell Us Your Deal Breakers

I'm pretty sure that if you followed me on a regular basis, you would already know my ticks and glitches when it comes to my reading. But, here they are again.

1. Rape - I don't want to read about it, I don't want to hear about it, I don't think it is funny, compelling, interesting, nor do I believe that it is necessary in order to tell a story. As a survivor, I continue to rage against those who would seriously believe that rape is entertaining and thus you need to have it in your story. No, you don't.

2. BDSM - Sorry folks, I don't mean to demean, nor attack anyone who happens to enjoy this particular genre. Me, I would rather gauge my eyes out with a ball peen hammer than read any of this. I am probably more vanilla in my likes of romance than chocolate or Rocky Road. 

3. 3-Way Love Triangles - If you write a novel that contains even the smell of a 3 way love triangle, I will automatically take 1 full rating point away. Love triangles have become worn out, and useless as tits on a boar. Again, I would rather watch paint dry, than continue to read about love triangles.

4. The absence of an sort of role models, or family unit in Young Adult stories. You can not honestly say that this isn't sending a strong message to our youth that parents don't matter to the overall happiness and well being of our youth today. 

5. Political leanings in a story. Wow, could I rave on about this particular choice for hours. I don't care if you are left leaning, conservative, independent, Democrat, or Republican. I don't care whether or not you believe in Global Warming, or not. I don't even care that your character is a vegetarian who refuses to eat meat, or joins Greenpeace in order to save the whales. I read books to escape from the real world and all the nastiness in it. 

Day 15 Challenge - Who are your book blogging mentors?

This is a rather interesting question to think about a way to answer it without sounding lame and annoying. Who are my mentors? I actually got into blogging without a lot of help. I mostly stuck to Goodreads to post my reviews, and now and then Amazon if I wasn't being jumped on by vampant authors and their troll followers. 

 It wasn't until I was stumbling and bumbling around trying not to sound pathetic that people started coming up to me and offering suggestions and help. There are those I no longer consider friends and still others who have quit blogging altogether. I miss the friendship, but of course, that is part of life. 

How about this, there are more than a few people who I look up to and respect for what they've done over the course of their blogging careers and how they've been friends that have kept me sane and on track. 

I respect both Kara & Lynn from Great Imaginations.

 I love the fact that Christiana from TheWhiteUnicornfiction continues to support my blog by leaving comment.

 I absolutely respect Rachel @ Parajunkee for setting the bar for those like me who needed a little inspiration to keep going. 

I thank Jenese from Readers Confession for not laughing at me when we met at Olde Town, New City in February. She laughs at me, and teases me, but has never been ugly towards me.

I found a new friend in Lenore @ Nocturnereads who redesigned my header for me. Thank you!

There are so many more who I've found on Goodreads, and Twitter that continue to comment and support my blog and I can't thank them enough.