Monday 25 November 2013

Life has been busy guys and it's been a long time since I or Reeshe (who moved away months ago and has limited internet access) has posted on this blog and even longer since either of us has made a regular post. I keep meaning to finish redesigning the blog, to make a new post, to finish a draft but the days then become weeks and weeks become months and it's time to face the fact that this blog is no longer a priority in my life. There is just too much things keeping me occupied - work, school, new goals I want to work towards, new commitments I want to take on like Karate Classes and writing stories as well as improving my graphic skills.

I can't properly speak on Reeshe's behalf, I haven't even told her that I am taking a break from the blog but I assume considering that she is also busy with school and acclimating to a new location and home that she won't be posting on this blog anytime soon either. However because I am just a co-blogger and this blog was initially Reeshe's idea I won't delete it or close it down permanently and just leave it here in case either of us ever decide to return.

Thank-you all for the support in the past few years. It's been fun.

Oh also I saw Catching Fire over the weekend, it was great. I definitely recommend anyone and everyone to go watch it.

Posted on Monday, November 25, 2013 by Sandy

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Wednesday 23 October 2013

If you have checked out the previous Stumble Upon Songs posts you might have guessed that I have a thing for sombre songs or ballads. I love high energy pop/rock/alternative music, I am often blasting them in my car in the morning or on the way home but I can also go on for hours listening to softer deeper songs that just help me keep calm and carry on ;).


Still by Daughter
First heard while watching a fanvideo for a favorite pairing of mine from one of my favorite TV shows - Once Upon a Time

The Lightning Strike by Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol is one of my favourite bands and when I heard this song playing during the trailer for the 2013 animated movie Epic I instantly loved it, but you know I didn't realize that the song was being sung by Snow Patrol (fail on my part). But I was so happy when I found out that it was them.

The A Team by Ed Sheeran
This one was actually just discovered through the radio, haha.

Agnes Obel by Avenue
Her song Riverside was used in another Once Upon a Time fanvideo and I loved it so much I looked up a few of her other songs.

Found through tumblr after the airing of the episode Game of Thrones episode Rains of Castermere or as fans of the epic book series A Song of Ice and Fire call it The Red Wedding episode. It's a beautiful song but heart breaking if you are a fan of the show.

Posted on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 by Sandy

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Saturday 19 October 2013

Monday night my mom and I went to a book signing. Now usually a book signing is something I go to with a friend (if I can get one to come with me) or by myself but my mom came along this time because she knew who the author was. Ingrid Hoffman, a celebrity chef was promoting her book, Latin d'Lite. She has a cooking show called Delicioso that airs on Univision and she also has a show on The Cooking Channel called Simply Delicioso and my family has seen a few of her show’s episodes so I am sure my brother and sister would have liked to come too but the signing was at 7 and my mom works late so we went straight after work.

The store, Books & Books, doesn't do any advertising for their author events so I wasn't surprised that there were a lot of empty seats at the signing (especially since it was a Monday night). I mean the only reason I knew about it is because I receive emails directly from the store and then I told my mom about it. Despite the small group the signing was great. Ingrid was very laid back and honest and she had a lot of energy as she went through her presentation. She not only talked about the book itself (why she decided to create it and what it was about) but she took us all through the makings of the book, the behind the scenes, and she had pictures to show us on a slideshow.

It was very informative and interesting to learn and see how much work actually goes into making a cook book and oh my god A LOT of work goes into making a cook book. I already knew from following fiction writing authors online and going to signings that publishing a book requires WORK and perseverance and dedication but creating a recipe book involves on top of that other things you wouldn't need for regular books like photographers, a food stylus, studio, test kitchens, props and of course FOOD. Lots and lots of food. If you have ever seen the movie Julie and Julia you know how long it takes just to pick and test the recipes that are going to be in your book well now picture that process with the addition of the elements I just listed. I know regular books can involve photographers and models and other things to make an image look great but that’s almost always for the exterior, the book cover, well a good recipe book has pictures of food on the INSIDE of the book too.
Mexican Port Pozole


This was definitely one of my favourite author signings to attend and not just because we got free food (Wahoo Ceviche). The signing went beyond what I expected. The topics that were touched on were – publishing restrictions in regards to Latinos and Hispanics, the impact of big industry farming, the problem with hunger in America, schools based on cooking helping disadvantaged youth to succeed, jobs in the food industry besides being a chef, ingredients from the 1920 and 1800s that no longer exist along with other things I am sure I have forgotten.

After the presentation and chat there was the signing. I always buy a book when I go to a signing and Ingrid signed it and personalized it for my mom. My mom in fact had reached the store before me and she told me she got to have a long chat with Ingrid about her touring and I made sure she got a picture with her. I am happy my mom got this experience, she works so hard and always seems busy and doesn't really go out often (I think I get my introversion from her maybe) so I am happy I was able to share this with her. She said she couldn't believe she got to meet Ingrid and I am happy she did.
Latin burgers with caramelized onion
 and jalapeno relish and red pepper mayonnaise

Sorry I have no images from the actual event (except one with my mom and Ingrid) I left my camera in the car and my phone camera doesn't work.

Posted on Saturday, October 19, 2013 by Sandy

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Friday 18 October 2013

Why Love?

Why is it that we blame love
for so many things
when it is us that choose to fall in love?

Is it because we can't find it
in ourselves
to put the blame
where it really should go.

Posted on Friday, October 18, 2013 by Reeshe

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Wednesday 16 October 2013

A semi-oldie but a favourite that I have been re-listening to a lot lately. This song puts me in a good mood even at work where I am surrounded by different shades of greys and browns and doing a job I do not love. If you are in need of a mood lifter maybe it will help you out.


Edit: Looks like this vid won't play one the blog but you can click the link and see it on youtube.

Posted on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 by Sandy

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Sunday 13 October 2013

Alma of My Heart
Alma of my Heart by Susanna Lo
Irena Montoya and Tatiana Jones come from two entirely different worlds. Irena is a poor, illegal immigrant who sneaks across the Mexican border and walks 46 days to Los Angeles where she hopes to find a new life for herself and her unborn daughter. Tatiana is a wealthy architect who has everything a woman could want – beauty, brains, money and an adoring husband – but she can’t have children. After a year of struggling to raise her daughter as a single mother in the pits of L.A., Irena realizes the best thing she can do for her child, Alma, is to give her up. She leaves Alma at the steps of The Survivors Sojourn, a safe haven for abused women and children founded and built by Tatiana. The minute Tatiana meets Alma, she knows all her dreams will come true and she raises Alma as her own daughter. Seven years later, the tragedy of Alma’s death brings Irena and Tatiana together. Through pain and suffering, these two women find love in a way neither one expected because sometimes hope can come from great despair.

This story was amazing, I was truly touched by this story. I cried, I smiled, I felt the happiness and the sadness that came with the women in this book.

I was drawn into this book, I felt everything that these women went thought, this book was so beautifully written, it kept you there feeling there pain, there happiness, their love.

The sacrifices that were made by the two of these women, it was what made them stronger, it is what made them fight harder and made them into the people they are today. I was thankful for this book and I have heard they are going to make it into a movie which is great. This story needs to be told. I believe that it will give people hope.

5 out of 5

Posted on Sunday, October 13, 2013 by Reeshe

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Friday 11 October 2013

A long time ago before Reeshe moved away to New York she suggested that perhaps I could do TV show episode recaps. Me, being the lazy person that I am wasn't up to the idea. Writing episode recaps would mean that I would have to write a post once a week, consistently. That kind of project requires commitment and discipline, two qualities I greatly lack but you know what this blog has been quiet for quite some time now.

I have been busy with work, school, exercise and home life (not to mention goofing off on tumblr) but it is time I return to Sparrow and Vixen Reviews. Even if renovations are still going on around here it doesn't mean the blog needs to be quiet until everything is ready. So please continue to pardon the dust but don't stay away until everything is all clear.

Now the show suggested for the recaps was Vampire Diaries since we both watch it regularly, well I do I'm not sure Reeshe is keeping track of the new season but since this show is on Season 5 now I don't think it would be a good choice.

My show of choice will be one that has premièred this fall. One that premièred yesterday actually. I am a fan of the TV Show Once Upon a Time and this year a spinoff of the show has started. I will be watching and recapping/reviewing Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. I will do my best to make the posts funny and hope they actually turn out that way.

Here is a trailer for those of you who have never heard of this show.


Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 by Sandy

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Currently I am quite low in the funds department so I can’t spend as much money on books as I used to. Actually I can’t really spend any money on books for the moment, which is actually a good thing for me since I have 90 books on my shelf or iPad waiting to be read. I am hoping my state of empty wallet means I can knock this number down a good 10 or even 20 books but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

Another reason I can’t buy any more books is because I simply have no more room to put them. I have books on shelves, in drawers, taking up space on tables, in boxes and suitcases. The only reason I don’t have books lining my wall along the floor is because our roof leaks but if that wasn’t an issue I am sure I would have books there too. So far this isn’t a major concern since I can’t afford to get more books (and hey I can always get ebooks) but when a time comes and I will need room there is my annual solution – donate books. The library, The Red Cross, and the local Thrift Shop run by the Humane Society all take donated books and I will be visiting one or all of them sometime this year. Maybe I can do this a bit before Christmas :). I would give books to friends but none of my friends here are big readers and all of my big reader friends live overseas :(.

What do you do when you run out of book room? How big is the to-read pile in your home? Do you have any strategies or tips on how to cut that pile down quickly? Do you ever get rid of books or do you keep them forever?

Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 by Sandy

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Wednesday 31 July 2013

I am currently tweaking the blog's template so if you notice something different or off that is the reason.

Posted on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 by Sandy

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The 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by April over on Good Books & Good Wine. You can start the challenge anytime you want, Day 1 is here.


How Do You Choose What Book To Read Next?


It’s all about what I am in the mood far. I’ve learned after suffering through many reading slumps that it’s a good idea to mix things up. Sometimes, especially if you are reading a really good series, you just want to read books back to back. I did this with the Skulduggery Pleasant books; I read the first book and then ordered all the other books in the series that were released. When they arrived I devoured 5 books in as many days (or less). It was great; that series is one of my favourites but reading about the same characters, same world, and same genre for 6 books in a row isn’t something I recommend doing on a regular basis. Why? Because I think you’ll burn yourself out mighty quickly, no one likes doing the same thing over and over again no matter how awesome it is.

Example, I love pasta but there is no way that I can be content with eating pasta all day every day for the rest of my life or even a week. I would get bored and sick of it after the second or third day, by day four I would probably never want to even hear the word pasta ever again but then months later after going pasta-free I am positive I’d be craving pasta again.

So what do I do? I go over what I just read. What did I love about this book? What did I hate? What was the most prevalent thing in the book? What do I want from the next book I am going to read? Do I want the same thing or something different? How interested am I in the premise? Do I want to read this book now? If you're answer isn't a resounding YES for that last question then you are probably better off picking up another book even if the one you were considering has been on your shelf or ereader for a year.

If it's a book you've accepted for review then that's a whole other situation because I'm sure you've set yourself a deadline. However, I don't think results are ever good if you have to force yourself to read a book. For that case maybe you should go through your review books and read the first or first three chapters (depending on length) and see which one catches your interest the most.

Posted on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 by Sandy

1 comment

Tuesday 30 July 2013

The 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by April over on Good Books & Good Wine. You can start the challenge anytime you want, Day 1 is here.


Why Do You Blog About Books?


Well like with anything I love or am obsessed with I want to share it and talk about it. Unfortunately all the people I want to talk about books with who would understand my love for them and be able to talk about them with me live very far, far away.

Actually initially I started blogging because I had a lot of time to kill while I was away at university. I am not a very social person so my only friend was my roommate, I spent most of my time reading books and soon after I started reviewing books and then soon after that the blog was created. I don’t have a lot of time to kill any more so my blogging has staggered but meh I still try to get a post out every now and then. My favourite thing to talk about are book covers and they are pretty easy posts to make. Just post a unique or cool or gorgeous cover and share it with the internet. Like I said I just want to talk about my favourite things with people who share my interests.

Posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 by Sandy

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Monday 29 July 2013

The 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by April over on Good Books & Good Wine. You can start the challenge anytime you want, Day 1 is here.


Quick. Write 15 bullet points of things that appeal to you on blogs!


  1. Discussion posts
  2. Cover posts
  3. Drop Down Menus (this is more a design thing but it counts!)
  4. Book to Movie reviews
  5. Simple but pretty/fantastical designs with easily legible posts/text
  6. Blogs that I can easily navigate – search bar, paging through posts, links to other pages like a review archive.
  7. Multiple ways to follow/subscribe to the blog
  8. Funny bloggers
  9. Posts on manga and/or other graphic novels
  10. The occasional personal post, maybe something that’s done once a week that gives a little insight to the non-book lover part of the blogger.
  11. If a blogger went to a book related even like an author signing or something big like BEA I always love hearing how it went, what they did and who they saw.
  12. Features unique to that blog
  13. Replies to comments - honestly seeing that a blogger responds to their visitors makes me more inclined to leave a comment.
  14. Tips and Tricks - I love it when a blogger posts about things that I might find helpful.
  15. Rants - I don't like to write them but I do like to read them. As long as it's not a personal attack I tend to find them funny and quite informative.

Posted on Monday, July 29, 2013 by Sandy

2 comments

Friday 26 July 2013

The 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by April over on Good Books & Good Wine. You can start the challenge anytime you want, Day 1 is here.

Talk about your blogging quirks

This question was hard probably because I didn’t really understand what a quirk was; I had to look it up.

a peculiarity of action, behaviour, or personality; mannerism

And I really can’t think of anything.

  • When I was blogging regularly I had a spread sheet with a calendar where I schedule my blog posts. I still have it but am not currently using it.
  • I organize specific requests into their own folders in my gmail.

That’s all I got. Sad.

Posted on Friday, July 26, 2013 by Sandy

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I am honestly tired of Wolverine and would love to see movies about other X-Men characters like Storm and X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a mess of a movie but it's X-Men so I have to see it and I've read good things about this one from someone who didn't like Origins either so I have hope. I'll be checking this out tomorrow.

What movie do you want to see this weekend? What was the last movie you saw?

Posted on Friday, July 26, 2013 by Sandy

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Thursday 25 July 2013

The 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by April over on Good Books & Good Wine. You can start the challenge anytime you want, Day 1 is here

  Describe How You Shop For Books


I usually go local. The local indie, Book Nook, for the most part doesn’t have the books I want on its shelf so I order through the bookstore and the books arrive a week later. The only time I shop online is if I want a book with a foreign (non-US) cover so I order from Book Depository or FishPondWorld or if I am ordering an ebook (these I get from amazon).

Posted on Thursday, July 25, 2013 by Sandy

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Monday 22 July 2013

Yes The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater.
The sequel to The Raven Boys.
Here be the gorgeous cover
If you want a chance to win the book go here to the Bloody Bookaholic.

Though I hope I win and not you as selfish at that sounds. I got a chance to read an ARC of The Raven Boys last year, review here so I was pining for it's sequel long before the first book was even released. The Raven Boys was actually one of my favourite if not the favourite book of 2012. So I really really want this book o.o.

Posted on Monday, July 22, 2013 by Sandy

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Monday 15 July 2013


The Last Word: UNFETTERED ... for a great cause!: When some of the biggest names in the fantasy genre all come together on one project, readers sit up and pay attention. Especially when that...

I am reblogging some interesting news that I thought you guys would be interested in. There is a great cause happening right now. Over a dozen big fantasy authors have come together to contribute original stories for an anthology titled Unfettered. The proceeds from the sale of the anthology are going to help pay the medical bills for Shawn Speaksman. Shawn is Terry Brook's webmaster and in 2011 he was diagnosed with Hogdkin’s lymphoma. Unfortunately Shawn didn't have medical insurance to cover the costs and has accrued a big medical debt over the course of his treatment, but fortunately a lot of great authors have come together to create this anthology to help Mr. Speaksman.

You can purchase the book and read more on the story here.

Even if it wasn't for such a great cause I would have gotten the book anyway. The list of authors are just impressive and that cover is gorgeous.

Posted on Monday, July 15, 2013 by Sandy

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The 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by April over on Good Books & Good Wine. You can start the challenge anytime you want, Day 1 is here

  Recommend a Tearjerker


Oh gosh. If I Stay by Gayle Foreman and The Prophecy Sisters by Michelle Zink (this one hurt me so bad I couldn’t continue the series). Many other books have made me cry but I don’t think they would qualify as tear jerkers in the general sense.

Posted on Monday, July 15, 2013 by Sandy

2 comments

Thursday 11 July 2013

The 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by April over on Good Books & Good Wine. You can start the challenge anytime you want, Day 1 is here

 What is the last book you flung across the room?


I don’t throw books, even books I hate I can’t mistreat even if I have the urge to. The last book that has made me want to throw it across the room would probably be Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Alice was such a frustrating protagonist, I kept cursing at her and wanting to just reach into the book and shake her. I couldn’t even hit the book because it was an ebook stored on my precious iPad.

The one book (or series) I probably would have set on fire though if they weren't ebooks was Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow. I don't normally curse (even online or at least I didn't back then) but I will say when I finished the last book in this series I was cursing up a storm. Every time I started talking about this series I get upset. One time I was telling my friend about what had happened in the end while I was driving and I nearly ran into the back of another car. This series raises my blood pressure.

Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2013 by Sandy

2 comments

Wednesday 10 July 2013

The 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by April over on Good Books & Good Wine. You can start the challenge anytime you want, Day 1 is here.

Who are Your Blogger BFFs?


You know when I was going through the challenge and creating answers in advance I skipped this question? First of all I am not a very social person, 9 out of 10 times I will not approach you, and I am equal parts introvert and equal parts shy. I don’t like bothering people at least that’s what it feels like, even when I am in the midst of an online conversation I will cease discussion if I feel the conversation has gone on too long and I am thinking I MUST be bothering the person now. Even when I am friends with them (or think I am friends with them). Second of all I haven’t been blogging a lot lately so ties with people have kind of faded since I haven’t spoken with people in a while. Are these people still my BFFs if I just talk to them occasionally on twitter? Ok I am over thinking things now.

Let’s see well Reeshe (the Vixen to my Sparrow) is my best friend in the real world and although she has moved away to another country and is busy with school right now and doesn’t have internet access where she is living at the moment and can’t really blog at the moment she is still a blogging BFF. Andrea of Aine’s Realm is definitely a blogging buddy; we were online friends before either of us became book bloggers. She lives in another country as well but I have met up with her 3 times and have actually stayed with her 2 of those 3 times. Besides blogging we chat on twitter, have weekly skype chats when Vampire Diaries is in season and mock the show (and fangirl over Bonnie) and we are both members of a Melissa Marr fanforum. I am trying to see if I can get Andrea to go to BEA with me or if I’ll go join her at an ALA signing one day :).

Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 by Sandy

2 comments

Tuesday 9 July 2013

The 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by April over on Good Books & Good Wine. You can start the challenge anytime you want, Day 1 is here.

What’s Your Bedtime Reading Ritual


I suppose this is referring to the days where I actually read on a regular basis like a normal book lover. Well I would just get ready for bed, tell the family good night, prop myself on a pillow and start reading the book of the moment. When I got tired then I would put the book away on my nightstand and if it was really good pick it back up first thing in the morning before I start getting ready for my day.

Posted on Tuesday, July 09, 2013 by Sandy

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Monday 8 July 2013

I know this blog has been quite sleepy for a long time but today I discover a book blogger challenge that seems quite interesting that I wanted to participate in. Now I am not sure how well I will do in this challenge since I have been in a reading coma for the past year but hey maybe this will help me get out of it.
The 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted by April over on Good Books & Good Wine. You can start the challenge anytime you want, Day 1 is here.

Day 1: Make 15 book related Confessions

  1. My favourite kind of covers are illustrated.
  2. If a book I love or loved is being made into a movie I try to forget as much detail about the book as possible so I can enjoy the movie on its own and not judge it as an adaptation.
  3. I have sadly only read 3 books so far this year and one of them was a novella.
  4. I bought the German edition of Shiver just for the pretty cover (because I can’t speak German) and immediately felt guilty when I took the book out of its package.
  5. I still have unread ARCs on my shelf for books that released last year.
  6. If you damage a book that I lent to you I will most likely never lend you a book ever again and probably be filled with bitterness towards you every time I look at the book.
  7. I sometimes find dollar bills in my books (usually Harry Potter).
  8. I want to come up with my own book curse like this one and either frame it to hang in my dream library or stick it on the inside of all of my books.
  9. When I was away at university I often had days when I was very hungry but I always had a book to read.
  10. I want Scholastic to release the 15th Anniversary edition Harry Potter books in hardcover.
  11. I loathe spoilers. If I ask you not to spoil me and you continue to reveal spoilery things I will most likely hurt you.
  12. I got into book blogging because I had a lot of time on my hands and university and because I wanted to become better at explaining what the books I were reading were about.
  13. If a guy that’s interested in me doesn’t like to read books he doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. Move along non-reader.
  14. My favourite series of all time tend to have a great ensemble of characters and detailed and fantastic world building.
  15. If a book with gorgeous cover turns out to be a book I hate I feel betrayed.

Posted on Monday, July 08, 2013 by Sandy

3 comments

Monday 24 June 2013

This means that handy GFC widget to the right with our follower count is going to be useless come July 1st.

But have no fear there is another way to track the blogs you follow besides our RSS Feed button in the upper right (or email subscriptions).

Have you heard of bloglovin? It's a blog reader that has been around for a few years, it's convenient and has a simple and easy to read layout.

This link right here shows you a super easy way that allows you to transfer all of the blogs you have on google reader (I had 301) to Bloglovin. If you create an account on bloglovin it's seriously two clicks, wait a few minutes and done. After the blogs are transferred they are put under a group called blogger-following after that it will be up to you to leave them in that group or sort them into separate groups of your choice for easier viewing :). Now if you follow a lot of blogs the sorting part can be quite tedious so if you've been doing a bit of spring cleaning (aka unfollowing a few blogs) I suggest you do that before you transfer them over. Also if most of the blogs you follow fall under one subject.

For example I mostly follow book blogs so it would have been better for me to change the group name from blogger-following to something like book blogs and then move all the other blogs that don't fit into their own groups.

Posted on Monday, June 24, 2013 by Sandy

1 comment

Friday 21 June 2013


Well why don't you take a look at this sexy piece of cover art. I thought Stormdancer was a gorgeous piece of art and design that could not be topped but I do believe it's sequel Kinslayer has done just that.

Oh wait you haven't seen Stormdancer's cover? Well bam take a look below and let your eyes feast!





Posted on Friday, June 21, 2013 by Sandy

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Wednesday 19 June 2013



I know a certain someone who's been waiting for this.

Posted on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 by Sandy

2 comments

Tuesday 18 June 2013


If you, like Reeshe, are a fan of the House of Night Series and have not seen the cover for the next book you're welcome. I'm not a fan of the series but I do admit that the series has some lovely eye catching covers, like the one above. I love the colour choice here and I am a sucker for partially covered faces. Maybe it's because they add a bit of mystery? I don't know what it is but they always catch my eye.

Posted on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 by Sandy

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Monday 17 June 2013

Book Blogger Confessions is a bi-weekly meme hosted by Karen @ For What it's Worth Reviews and Midnyte Reader.

BEA, ALA. Have you ever been before? If you've been before, share your experiences; both pro & con. If you haven't gone before, do you participate in online events like Armchair BEA? Do you hope to go one day? Do you feel too intimidated to go? Are you jealous of the big book hauls and tweets during the events?

I have been to two big book related events that span over a few days. The first was RT – Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention. Lots of fantastic panels head up by authors followed by theme parties held at night and sprinkled with signings throughout the con and ending with a huge signing at the end. Lots of fun and I definitely recommend it for writers and aspiring writers. I am not a writer but I attended the con with a friend who wants to be an author and the whole thing was a blast. I enjoyed listening to authors not only talk about writing but also their books current and upcoming. The great thing about RT was that it very informative, you get a lot of books and free swag to take home, you mingle with authors at dinners and parties and get to ask them questions in the panels or for a bit at the signings. The con is that RT is $$$. I can’t exactly remember the cost but it was in the hundreds so if you are planning to attend except to shell out a good amount of dough, another con for me is that the location changes every year. The year I went it was in Ohio and the following year it was in California and a lot further away from me so I couldn’t go. But I think its well worth attending at least once; it’s a very fun atmosphere.

I attended BEA last year and it was amazing, it was hectic, busy, crowded and there was a LOT of waiting – standing in line, sitting in line. After the first day my feet were KILLING me and they hurt me for the rest of the week (I was pretty miserable about that but I sucked it up) but it was such a great experience. Do not go to BEA alone, you are going to need friends to help you get through the event to help you grab books, or save spots for you in line, it’s also great to have other booklovers to chat books and authors with. My book haul at BEA was very impressive and it was filled with more books that I actually wanted to read as opposed to RT which did have YA books but was mostly offering romance novels. BEA for me because I am (was) a blogger was free. The only thing I paid for were my travel expenses but the con didn’t cost me a dime.

I want to go to BEA again and was planning on going this year but I ended up in a reading rut and blogging rut and although I wanted to go to NY and meet up with some bloggers I didn’t feel right going and grabbing books I wouldn’t read. Also I doubted I’d be able to get in for free again with the lack of updates on my blog xD.

Posted on Monday, June 17, 2013 by Sandy

2 comments

Wednesday 5 June 2013



The Best You Never Had by Leona Lewis

Posted on Wednesday, June 05, 2013 by Reeshe

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Friday 22 March 2013

Taking place immediately Wildfire Writing will be changing it's name to Sparrow and Vixen Reviews. It's been brought to our attention that another website has the same name and has had it for far longer than we have. Unfortunately two similar sites with the same name causes confusion in search results so we've kindly been asked if we could change our name to avoid this confusion and we have agreed.

This means that our web and email addresses will also be changing so if you have us bookmarked, favourited or saved anywhere. You might want to update your information as soon as possible.

url

wildfirewriting.blogspot.com >> sparrowandvixen.blogspot.com

email address


wildfirewriting@gmail.com >> sparrowandvixen@gmail.com

The old email account will be left active for 3 months but starting from now and up until the email account is deleted all messages sent to wildfirewriting@gmail.com will receive an automatic reply informing the sender of the account's ultimate demise and that all future inquiries should be sent to sparrowandvixen@gmail.com

Posted on Friday, March 22, 2013 by Sandy

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