The 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge!

As the year comes to a close, I decided to jump into one more reading challenge for 2012! This is such a brilliant idea, and definitely much needed for my poor leaning tower of a reading pile!

You can click on the image above to get all the details at the host site, Bookish, but the gist of it is to get us reading those amazing books that we bought, were gifted, or we won, and are now patiently sitting on the shelf collecting a not-so-fine layer of dust! Poor things! :)

So, here are the levels of participation:

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - A Sweet Kiss
31-40 - Love At First Sight
41-50 - Married With Children

I've decided to take on A Sweet Kiss, so hopefully I'll be able to get at least 21-30 of my lonely TBR books read!

Here is a tentative list of what I'll be reading:

Lola & The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
The Revenant by Sonia Gensler
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
Chime by Franny Billingsley
The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Clockwork Angel (& Prince!) by Cassandra Clare :)
Rampant by Diana Peterfreund
Through Her Eyes by Jennifer Archer
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
The Name of the Star by Mareen Johnson
Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
Siren by Tricia Rayburn
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (and hopefully the rest of the series! LOL)
Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston
Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott
Bright Young Things by Anna Godberson
Sea by Heidi R. Kling
Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck
Eon/Eona by Alison Goodman
You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Did I mention there were monthly challenges and prizes?? Go sign up!!
To all those participating, Good Luck & Happy Reading! :D

Top Ten Tuesday - Favorite Books I Read in 2011!

Over at The Broke and the Bookish, they host this fun list meme called Top Ten Tuesday! Each week, they post a Top Ten subject for us, and we make our lists!

This weeks Top Ten list is:
Favorite Book I Read in 2011

It was so hard to pare this list down!! I think I started with a list of about 20, and then reluctantly crossed off titles one by one. Here's what I was left with, the books I absolutely loved the most:

(each title link to my review, if you want to see why I loved it so much!)




Brightest Kind of Darkness
by P.T. Michelle

Unearthly
by Cynthia Hand

Anna & The French Kiss
by Stephanie Perkins

On The Fringe
by Courtney King Walker

Cinder
by Marissa Meyer
(review of this coming soon!)

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
by Ransom Riggs

Anna Dressed in Blood
by Kendare Blake

Half-Blood
by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Entangled
by Cat Clarke

Demonglass
by Rachel Hawkins

For all you Nook owners out there...

Are you a Nook owner? Did you just get one for Christmas? Or do you have the Nook app on your phone? Well, I just wanted to point out, the wonderful Shannon over at Stalking the Shelves just posted a great list of Nook Deals!! There are some great titles in there... I'm going shopping right now! :D

Head on over to Stalking the Shelves and check out all the Nifty Nook Book Deals!

Happy Holidays ♥

Happy Holidays, dear blog friends!
I hope where ever you are or whatever you celebrate, that you are safe, and happy, and healthy now and in the new year! Stories & Sweeties will be having a quiet few days while I spend the holidays enjoying my family and lots of yummy food. :)

Back soon with more book stuff!

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel: Gorgeous New Covers and an ebook steal!!

Kenneth Oppel's Dark Endeavor Chronicles is getting a gorgeous new look! I haven't had a chance to read book one yet, but I have heard seen nothing but praise for it. Check out the new covers:
Stunning photography, cool period costumes, a little taste of what the characters look like. Love them! So, if you're like me and haven't gotten a hold of book one yet, now is the perfect time to grab it---the ebook is available at Amazon & BN.com for only $1.99!!

Book Trailers: Switched & The Gathering Storm

I have two outstanding trailers to share! I really love when the publishers put effort into making a good quality book trailer. I swear, I've had a few times when I had no interest in a book at all until I saw the trailer. Both of these look almost like movie trailers!

The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges:


Switched by Amanda Hocking:

Review: The Deepest Cut by J. A. Templeton

The Deepest Cut by J.A. Templeton

publisher: J. A. Templeton

release date: June 27th, 2011

paperback, 304 pages (reviewed ebook format)

intended audience: Young adult

series: MacKinnon Curse, book 1

rating:




source: from author for honest review

description: Sixteen-year-old Riley Williams has been able to see ghosts since the car crash that took her mother’s life and shattered her family. Guilt-ridden over the belief that she’s somehow responsible for her mom’s death, Riley is desperate to see her mother’s elusive spirit to gain her forgiveness.

When her father moves the family to Scotland so they can all start over, Riley believes her life couldn’t get worse––that is until the ghost of nineteen-year-old Ian MacKinnon catches her purposely cutting herself. An uneasy truce quickly turns into friendship, and soon Riley’s falling hard for Ian.

Riley believes her gift could help Ian end the curse that has kept him tied to the land for centuries, but that would mean letting him go forever and she’s not sure she is strong enough to do that. As if her life wasn’t complicated enough, the spirit of the woman who killed Ian returns and she’ll stop at nothing to keep Riley from helping Ian find eternal peace.

Review: The Deepest Cut was a compelling, haunting, romantic tale. The Scottish country setting gave it a beautiful atmosphere, with castles, creepy ancient cemeteries, and lovely accents to put to the voices of Riley's new friends! Riley is a good person, struggling with much more emotionally than the normal teen. She seems to have a pretty solid handle on her ability to see ghosts, but it's the secret guilt she feels about her mother's death that is eating her up inside. In some ways, I think she was okay with seeing ghosts because of her constant hope that she would someday be able to see her mother again and apologize. Until then, her pain is so immense, she has resorted to cutting as a release. I love the relationship between Riley and her brother, Shane. Despite being really close in the past, they had grown further and further apart while they both deal with their mother's death in different ways. It started out rocky and grew into something really great---I loved Shane's character and hope we get to know him more in the future!

There are some intensely spine-tingling moments throughout this story! The dark spirit, Laria, is as evil as they come. The extent of the sinister things she was involved with in life were only vaguely explained, so I hope to read more about that in the rest of the series. I'd also be interested to learn a little more about the MacKinnon family history, so I hope that is to come. Ian MacKinnon was a great love interest! A little mysterious, very gentle and compassionate, but masculine in all the right ways! The attraction was instant but the love was not, which I appreciated. Though sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my brain around a ghost being able to stand before you as real and corporeal as any living being, I was able to overcome that and just enjoy the sweet romance that developed between Riley and Ian. After all, what is a good love story without the gentle touches on the face, the coy hand-holding, the nuzzles into the neck. :) Plus the author did a good job of explaining the power of ghosts, so I was satisfied!

The plot was intriguing, and the things that I suspected would turn out predictable ended up taking me completely by surprise! Despite a few small editing and grammatical errors (which could very well have been fixed since the copy I received!), I definitely enjoyed and recommend The Deepest Cut. I am SO very thankful that the next installment in the story comes out in January 2012. The ending was such an abrupt cliffhanger! It would have been horrible to have to wait much longer than that to find out what is going on!

Check out the author's website here!

Purchase The Deepest Cut at: Amazon • BN.com

Trailer:

Waiting on Wednesday - The Purpley Edition

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for. For my WoWs, I'll be choosing a Sooner (books released in the next month or so) and a Later (books further out). Here's what I'm eagerly anticipating:

Sooner:

Hollow Pike
by James Dawson

hitting shelves February 2, 2012 from Orion Children's

description:
Something wicked this way comes... She thought she'd be safe in the country, but you can't escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she's being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn't believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn't believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you're alone in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps... Hollow Pike - where witchcraft never sleeps.

My thoughts: This definitely sounds good and creepy. And what a brilliant cover!

Later:
Lucid
by Ron Bass & Adrienne Stolz

hitting shelves July 19, 2012 from Razorbill

description:
What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever?

Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different - except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other.

The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiraling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever.

My thoughts: This sounds really good. I've always been fascinated by stories about dreams and lucid dreaming!

Purple seems to be a popular color for covers this coming year! There are sure to be more of these purpley editions in the future! :)

Old Books, New Looks {3}

Thought it was about time for another round of Old Books, New Looks, where I feature the covers of books that have already been released and their redesigned paperback counterpart! :) Sometimes I like the new better, sometimes I like the old. Here's a few that I've come across lately:

The OLDIES vs. The NEWSIES

Here's my thoughts:
~Ruby Red: love both of these, actually! The red cover, in person, is so shimmery and shiny, hard not to love. But I also love the pretty dress and London background on the new cover.
~Chime: ugh. Not a fan of the change. The original is stunning. The new one? Um, what's with disproportionate floating head?
~Please Ignore Vera Dietz: on the fence about these. I love the simplicity and rawness of the original, because it fit the rawness of the story. The new one is so pretty though, and definitely fits the story, too.
~Cryer's Cross: Eck. The original is one of my favorite covers around---as creepy as can be and completely significant to the story. The new one looks cheesy, like a Twilight-meadow-scene knock off. Nope, don't like it.

So what do you think of these? Like the oldies or the newbies?

Girl Seeks Book!

Ok, dear blog friends. I'm looking for your help! Every once in awhile there is a book...a book that I am just DYING for, can't stand even a short wait to the pub date, and can't get my hands on! So Girl Seeks Books is something I will be doing for those "desperately seeking" moments. I'll post the book and I'll post a little list of current trades I have available---so please don't hesitate to email me if you want to do some trading!! :D

Today I am desperately seeking:

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood!!

Here are few that I have available to trade:
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (arc or finished copy)
Cinder by Marissa Meyer (arc---this was fabulous, btw!)
Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon (arc)
Shatter Me by Teherah Mafi (arc)
Mastiff by Tamora Pierce (finished copy)
The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (finished copy)
Half Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout (arc)
Divergent by Veronica Roth (arc)
Ruthless by Sara Shephard (finished copy)

I have lots of others, that's just the few I could think of...if there is something particular you are looking for and you have Born Wicked, feel free to email me at storiesandsweetiesblog@gmail.com! First good offer gets the trade! :D

In My Mailbox {97}

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we all share what we got during the week!

The books I got this week are having a party with the presents under the christmas tree! So excited about both of these, especially Pure since I was a huge fan of Half-Blood!
Here's what I got:

For Review:
Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Dying to start this!! It's not out until April, so I'm going to try to hold off for awhile, but it keeps looking at me, tempting me!! :)

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
This one sounds amazing, and I've seen some great reviews of it already from my go-to blogs for recommendations. Plus, keep an eye out this week, I'll be hosting a giveaway for this book!


Many thanks to Spencer Hill Press & Alloy Entertainment for these!

New on my Nook:

The Ivy Gate by A.R. Kahler
Heard about this one from the fabulous Pam at Bookalicious. Excited to delve into a new faerie series!

So that's it for me this week. Hope everyone has a great week!! And stay safe out there---the shopping masses are insane this year!

Quick looks at quick books! Ladybird, Ladybird & Intuition

Here's a few mini reviews for some quick reads I've come across lately!

Ladybird, Ladybird by Abra Ebner
published by Crimson Oak Publishing
release date: September 15, 2011
rating:


Review: Abra Ebner has given us a sweet story that really touches the heart. Main character, Sam, is a strong but a bit damaged. Her father blames her for taking away his wife, just by being born and he physically and emotionally abuses her. She is cursed with a power that makes her emotions manifest as a searing touch. Sam's biggest secret is that she communicates with her mother in the form of keys that open a magical box where cryptic messages appear. Then one day she connects with a boy who is also a bit of an outcast at school. Mysteriously, he is the only person she's ever met to be immune to her curse. I really enjoyed this story, full of surprises and an unexpected, but satisfying ending. It's a very fast read (a 90 page ebook, hardcover is 172 pages), but it said everything it needed to say. It was a pleasure to follow Sam's journey to find love and peace.

Cover thoughts: LOVE this cover. The ladybug, the trees, the fire---all very significant to the story.

Purchase: Amazon • BN.com


Intuition by J. Meyers
self-published
release date: November 3rd, 2011


Review: I left the rating off since this short story is really just a prequel to Intangible, which comes out in January. But with that said, I will tell you that I can't wait to pick up the next part of the story. In this 36 page glimpse, I got a good feel for the two main characters, twins Luke and Sera. I am completely intrigued with their relationship, their powers (she is a healer and he can see the future), the good they use their mysterious powers for, and of course, the daunting vision that Luke has that will no doubt catapult us into the main storyline of Intangible!

Cover thoughts: Love this one, too, because it shows both main characters. I actually kind of wish this had been used for the main story, Intangible!

(Download this one for free at Amazon or BN.com!)

Waiting on Wednesday - The Pretty Swirly Edition

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for. For my WoWs, I'll be choosing a Sooner (books released in the next month or so) and a Later (books further out). Here's what I'm eagerly anticipating:

Sooner:

Unraveling Isobel
by Eileen Cook

hitting shelves on January 3rd, 2012 from Simon Pulse

description:
Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother.

But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts.

Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.

My thoughts: From the cover, I never would have thought this book had anything to do with creepy gothic mansions and ghosts, ---it definitely looks like a contemp YA! I can't wait to see how this one turns out!


Later:
Until I Die
by Amy Plum

hitting shelves May 8th, 2012 from HarperTeen

description:
Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.

As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.

In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed Die For Me and can't to see where this series is headed next! I need more Kate, more Vincent, and more Paris! :D

Review: In the Forests of the Night

In the Forests of the Night by Kersten Hamilton

publisher: Clarion Books

release date: November 22, 2011

hardcover, 288 pages

intended audience: Young adult

series: Goblin Wars, book 2

rating:




description:
The battle against goblinkind continues . . . but which side will Teagan be on?

Teagan, Finn, and Aiden have made it out of Mag Mell alive, but the Dark Man’s forces are hot on their heels. Back in Chicago, Tea’s goblin cousins show up at her school, sure she will come back to Mag Mell, as goblin blood is never passive once awoken. Soon she will belong to Fear Doirich and join them. In the meantime, they are happy to entertain themselves by trying to seduce, kidnap, or kill Tea’s family and friends. Tea knows she doesn’t have much time left, and she refuses to leave Finn or her family to be tortured and killed. A wild Stormrider, born to rule and reign, is growing stronger inside her. But as long as she can hold on, she’s still Teagan Wylltson, who plans to be a veterinarian and who heals the sick and hurting. The disease that’s destroying her—that’s destroying them all—has a name: Fear Doirich. And Teagan Wylltson is not going to let him win.

Review: In this second installment to the Goblin Wars series, Teagan and her friends have survived their first big fight with Fear Doirich and are back home, safe and sound. Everyone is trying to acclimate: Teagan's dad to having his own thoughts back and step back into the role of "Dad" to Teagan and Aiden; Teagan's aunt and the goblin, Thomas, who they brought back from Mag Mell are getting used to the new world around them. And Teagan is trying to wrap her mind around the news that she herself is a highborn Goblin.

For me, it took a little way into the book to really get acclimated myself. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and a lot to remember from the first book, so if you have the opportunity, I might advise rereading the first book if you haven't read it since it was released. Once I got my bearings, I fell right back in to the story Teagan is still the great smart, strong, character that I loved, Aiden is still stealing the show with his fun antics and amazing magical voice, and Finn is just as charming and chivalrous, with that lovely irish accent making me swoon just a bit. :) Seriously, the only way a character could get away with calling his girlfriend "Girl" repeatedly is with a hot irish accent. For a lot of the book Teagan is having a sort of inner struggle with who she is and holding on to that despite feeling the pull of her goblin blood. It makes her unsure about Finn, since he is born to fight goblins, makes her scared and more protective of Aiden, and makes her want to go back and face Fear Doirich even more.

We get a great dose of Irish lore in In the Forest of the Night. Kersten Hamilton has such an amazing way of working everything we need to know right into the story with such amazing flow. The infamous Maggot Cat and the cat-sidhe are even more distgusting than I remember them being in book one. There is, once again, some really great action this time around and the ending is amazing, and completely unexpected, with a great exciting cliffhanger that hints at the amazingness to come in book 3! I can't wait! Fans of this story will not be disappointed!

Visit Kersten Hamilton's site here!

Purchase in the Forests of the Night: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

In My Mailbox {96}

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we all share what we got during the week!

For review:
Ruthless by Sara Shepard
I've heard this is a good series--guess I will have to start it soon! Thanks, HarperTeen!

Won:
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Between the Sea & Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore
Won these two awesome books from Geeky Bloggers Book Blog!! Yay!!

I have a feeling we're going to see Clockwork Prince in a lot of mailboxes this week! :D My reading time is finally starting to pick back up---I was able to start Cinder this week and it is completely blowing me away so far!
Happy reading, everyone!

Review: Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

publisher: Philomel / Penguin

release date: December 8, 2012

hardcover, 336 pages

intended audience: Young adult

rating:




source: from publisher for honest review

description:
Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.

Review: I really couldn't help but love this one. A great beginning that dips you right into the action, a slow-building love story with a deep history, a bit of creepiness, and wonderful complex characters---this was a fantastic debut.

I'm always up for a good ghost story, and there are plenty of them out there, but this story ended up being something completely other that what I expected and really set itself apart. Lenzi can see and hear losts souls and with Alden's help she soon finds out that she has been reincarnated from a very well-known "Speaker"---someone who the souls can come to for help with their unfinished business, and he is there as her Protector. What's more is that there is actually a vast network of these Speakers and Protectors, as well as a council that oversees their work. It gave the "saving souls" concept a completely different dynamic, sort of like the CIA of the afterlife. :) The speaker/protector team helps the souls, files reports on each case, and even racks up points according to the kind of problem the soul had. It gave the story an interesting twist!

Lenzi is a great character---it was easy to stay interested in her dilemma and how she changes and grows. Her struggle changes from fear of turning out like her father who also heard voices, to uncertainty in trying to understand the answers that Alden gives her, to confusion as she grapples with who she is in this life---a quick-witted, confused teenager who is just trying to maintain a little bit of normalcy---and who she was in her past lives as the serious-minded and accomplished Speaker, Rose.

The love story was fantastic. There is a bit of a triangle going on here, but for me, her loyalty to the boy she was with before all this started was confounding. Zak scored no points with me right from the beginning; one of his first actions in the book is to get raging drunk at Lenzi's dad's grave and pass out, leaving her stranded without a way home. So needless to say, I was rooting for Alden from his first appearance. Alden is passionate and loyal and although it's his duty as a protector, he proves to protect Lenzi/Rose out of pure love that's built over hundreds of years of reincarnations. The other protectors that Lenzi meets, Maddi and Race, really add history (since they've known her through her past reincarnations) and humor to the story.

Definitely a debut to add to your must-read list!

Visit Mary Lindsey's site here.

Purchase Shattered Souls at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

Waiting on Wednesday - The Fallen Edition

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for. For my WoWs, I'll be choosing a Sooner (books released in the next month or so) and a Later (books further out). Here's what I'm eagerly anticipating:

Sooner:

Fallen In Love
by Lauren Kate

hitting shelves January 24th, 2012

description:
Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story.

And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first -and last- time, Daniel and Luce will spend a night together like none other.

Lauren Kate's FALLEN IN LOVE is filled with love stories . . . the ones everyone has been waiting for.

True love never says goodbye . . .


Later:

Rapture
by Lauren Kate

hitting shelves June 12, 2012

description:
The sky is dark with wings. . . .

In RAPTURE, the highly anticipated fourth and final novel in the FALLEN series, Luce and Daniel are together . . . but for how long? Can history be rewritten? Or are some punishments eternal?



My thoughts: Ok, so I know readers have a love or hate relationship with this series, but I have to say, I have really adored it so far! Click here to see my previous reviews and features on the Fallen series and author, Lauren Kate. SO relieved to see these two covers live up to books 1 & 2...the Passion cover was such a let-down. As for Fallen in Love, it's a collection of stories, which I don't usually go for, but with it being about characters that I'm already invested in, I'm excited for it! The ending of Passion was pretty amazing, so I can't wait to see what happens next in Rapture!

Sweetness on Sunday: REAL Hot Chocolate :)

So for this week's Sweetness on Sunday, I give you not cupcakes, not cookies, but something absolutely essential to both the curl-up, cozy winter reader and the ultimate chocolate lover. :) This hot chocolate will set apart the real chocolate lovers from the imposters. :D Now, I warn you, it is no way low fat. We drink this in small increments, like around 4-5 ounce servings (shown below is a dainty little brandy glass). Believe me, you won't need much more to satisfy a good hot chocolate craving! This tastes a bit like drinking hot melted brownies.

12 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate
2-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

Slowly heat the chocolate in a saucepan just until melted. In the microwave, slightly heat the milk until just above room temperature, maybe 15-20 seconds. This is so when you add it to the chocolate, the chocolate does not re-solidify. Add the warm milk to the melted chocolate and whisk until smooth. When smooth add the cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. Stirring almost constantly, heat until steaming hot, but do not boil. Drink away! Makes about 4-6 servings.

Now it's good just like that, but it's never a bad idea to add a little yummy flavoring---my favorites are peppermint or (for my older readers lol) a touch of kahlua or grand marnier! :)

Enjoy on a cold winter night with your book and blanket! :)

In My Mailbox {95}

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we all share what we got during the week!

Bought:
City of Lies by Lian Tanner
Hubby & I both loved the first book in this series, Museum of Thieves!

Won:
In the Forests of the Night by Kersten Hamilton
Won this awesome signed copy from the lovely Juju @ Tales of Whimsy! Yay! :D

For Review:
Here by Denise Grover Swank
I can't wait to start this one. Sounds so eerie and I love that cover!!

That's all for me this week! Happy reading, everyone!