Hello, hello!

Yes, it's me. I've been gone for months and I'm sorry about that. Life has just gotten in the way. I've been meaning to post here for awhile now and things have kept me busy and occupied. So, I figured it's better late than never.

What's been going on?

Last December my husband and I moved from Southern California to Liverpool, England. He's originally from there and we've been talking about giving it a go living there. He's been wanting to go back home for some time and I love it there so we took a chance and started the process of moving across the pond.

What most don't know is it's not as easy as simply (or not so simply) packing up your life and moving. It takes a lot of paperwork, money and time to complete the move. 

How DO you do it?

Well, since he's from England... born and raised he has kind of dual citizenship by default. He became a citizen of the US about two years ago now. Going home for him is easy. Taking me with him is what's difficult. We always knew that when we left in December. We knew that I'd only be there for a few weeks to a few months, depending on what my passport was stamped when we went through Immigration upon arrival. We knew that when that time was up I'd have to come back to the states, with him remaining behind in the UK to work while I came back to So Cal to file paperwork. 

You see, I had to do the paperwork from here in the US. I had to send over 3 pounds in weight of paperwork to prove our 15 year marriage. We had to prove that we weren't in it for a green card. Needless to say it was more paperwork than I could even tell you here, so I'll just leave it at that.

It also costs a CRAP TON of money as well.... and the catch? Or two catches actually....

1. This lasts 2.5 years. Then we have to do it allllllllllll over again. The good thing, I can do it from the UK then and it'll save us some money in airfare and shipping (It was... just in shipping the paperwork $277.00!! Why? Because you have to pay for the originals to be sent back to you as well. And shipping stuff two day, so they get the paperwork in the time they give you from when you complete your bio-metrics appt. it is in fact that much to send 3 pounds in weight of paperwork from Southern California to Sheffield, England)

2. They can deny you. And if they DO deny you and you choose to apply again you start over from scratch. And you PAY all over again as well. There's no guarantee in any of this. Our fate is in someones hands right now. AND IT IS TERRIFYING.

Wait?? You guys are APART to do this?

Yes. We sure are. I came back to the states in mid April and I've been here since. I had to renew my passport and we had to finish gathering things for our paperwork so we could e-file and then mail the forms needed. They received the paperwork on June 20th and it was just last week that I received an email letting me know that it was in fact received and someone would be assigned to work on it soon. 

They ask you what your date of travel is and we picked Sept 15th, (this is due to the fact that it tends to take, on the norm 2-3 months. There is a quicker way to rush things, but that costs another $1000.00. Yeah, no.) so that means if it's completed and they've approved me that'll be the earliest date I can leave the US. However... yes, another however.... lol If everything is done and set and I can head back "home" I have ONE MONTH to enter the UK or we're not sure what happens exactly. SOOOO, our goal is for me to be back in the UK before our 16 years together/15 years married anniversaries on Oct. 11th.

We HOPE *crosses EVERYTHING* that I'll be traveling the first week in Oct. We hope. 

We're really missing each other. Texts and FaceTime has helped and we do "dates" where we watch a movie or TV show together, but even that's starting to become hard to take. We have moments where were depressed and angry, and were really trying to deal. We know there are other people out there who are apart for so much longer than what we're dealing with so I feel for everyone that's for sure.

What else have you been up to?

I've been spending TONS of time with family. When I first came over, no one knew what the date was. They thought I was coming home later than I really was. We planned this to surprise everyone and we did that by leaps and bounds. And have the videos to prove it lol. Lots of time with my nieces. Mainly the older one since the younger niece doesn't like to come stay with us more than a night. She gets homesick. 

I've been trying to slowly sort the last of the stuff that we didn't pack before December last year. It's mainly some misc. things and my books. We're going to ship everything over at some point, so I'm trying to purge as many books as possible to save us some money. I HATE doing it, but I have to sacrifice something and it happens to be weight in the form of books. :(

I've also taken a few small trips with family while I've been here and seen a few friends. I've attended a book signing too!

One extremely exciting thing that happened right at the beginning of the year. Great friend and author Heidi Joy Tretheway was in the UK for work and I had a chance to take a day out to see her. It was one of the best days and we all had a great time! While we were chatting we talked about her hiring me to be her PA... so soon after that, exactly that happened. 

If you haven't read her books, you are SO MISSING OUT! Here's her Amazon link. Don't walk, RUN and grab up her books - Tattoo Thief is FREE! And the fourth book - Say It Louder comes out really soon. 

I've also been BETA reading for her, JC Emery, Toni Aleo, Bethany Lopez and others. I LOVE doing it!

And lastly, I've been working on plotting my OWN writing. Working for Heidi has helped me to learn SO MUCH and I know I have some great friends that I can go to for questions.

So, in a nut shell, the blog has taken a back seat. At least for now. Sadly, something had to give and it fell here.

Does this mean the blog is finished?

No. Not necessarily. I'll never say never. Having been blogging for SIX years here at A Life Bound By Books is hard to just give up. It's hard enough just putting it on hiatus. It's hard enough not having posted anything in as long as I have. It was just such a huge part of who I was for so long, that giving it up took so much out of me I don't even know how to start explaining it.

I'm still here. I'm still great friends with my co-blogger, Jenny who used to post reviews and various events in the book world she had attended. As a matter of fact, she's from the UK and lives not too far from where I do over there. We've seen each other a bunch of times. She picked us up at the airport when we landed with another friend Rachel AND when I came back the states her and her mum came with me lol. 

I'm still VERY active on Facebook. You can find me -

A Life Bound By Books

Lisa (My Personal page but I talk mainly bookish things)

Please feel free to find me on both.

So what now?

Well, that's a great question. Mainly I'll just keep plugging along here until we hear back on my immigration status. I'll also continue to reading as much as I can and try to get ready for that long, long, boring flight back to the UK. I can't wait to see my husband and friends there. I can't wait to do all the things there we have planned. I can't wait to start attending author signings there again. I can't wait for the weather. I just can't wait! Being in this holding pattern for this long isn't fun. I mean by the time I get back over there it'll be just two weeks shy of SIX LONG MONTHS! (That is if it all goes to our plan.)

If you guys could all send some good thoughts our way and maybe cross your fingers would be wonderful.

And with that... I'm officially putting A Life Bound By Books on HIATUS.

I'll try not to stay away this long again. And I promise that when time permits we'll be back.

Much love, 

PS - If anyone ever has any questions about Immigration from the US to the UK please feel free to email me. You can find my email on the right had sidebar. I still use that email and check it daily. We'd be more than happy to help anyone. It's a daunting task and we've come a long, long way and have untangled a lot to find the answers we have. So please feel free to ask away.

Book Wars a weekly feature hosted between two book review blogs – A Life Bound By Books & Much Loved Books!

It’s a fact that book lovers know all about the covers of the books they covet.  Often when a title is released here in the US, it’s sometimes vastly different across the pond in the US.  So, Michelle from Much Loved Books and I have come together to create Book Wars to talk about the difference in covers when it comes to the US vs. UK versions.

We hope from time to time authors will chime in with their thoughts as well. We welcome everyone to comment and share their thoughts too! The more the merrier!

Before we get to this weeks Book Wars, we have a winner to announce. The Book Wars winner for  is.....  !  Thank you to everyone who voted for both books, and for picking a winner.

Also, there's a poll at the bottom of the post that we'd love to hear your input for the two covers! Tell us which one YOU love the most.

Left: US - Right: UK

Title: Don't Look Back

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: US - Disney-Hyperion, 384 Pages (April 15th, 2014) UK - Hodder Paperbacks, 368 Pages (April 10th, 2014)
Add to: Goodreads USA Version | Goodreads UK Version
Order online here: USA: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository UK: Amazon UK, Waterstones, W H Smith, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

About Jennifer L. Armentrout:

# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.

She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Find Jennifer Online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Let the Wars Begin: Its now time to make our decision, let's see what we think about the covers and pick our favorite cover.

Lisa Who doesn't love Jennifer L. Armentrout? I know I do! Or can you tell from some of the choices I've made for Book Wars! recently? And while I was looking over her books I noticed that Don't Look Back had two different covers for US and the UK and couldn't resist.

I've seen the US cover in person and it's stunning, without a doubt. However there's something about the UK cover and the play on the title with the model, looking back that I love.

And I like the splash of color with her red dress and the red in the title.

The UK cover is a winner for me this week. Do you have a favorite? Tell us below.

Michelle I own a copy of the UK book, but I've also seen the US one around. Looking at these covers next to each other it's clear to me which is my favourite.

The US cover is dramatic and I like how the poses in the mirror are different, but I don't really feel anything towards it.
The UK cover however is also dramatic in it's own way, and I like how they have posed the cover model.

It's a UK win for me this week, which cover do you like the best?

VOTE for YOUR favorite cover of Don't Look Back NOW!

Book Wars a weekly feature hosted between two book review blogs – A Life Bound By Books & Much Loved Books!

It’s a fact that book lovers know all about the covers of the books they covet. Often when a title is released here in the UK, it’s sometimes vastly different across the pond in the US. So, Michelle from Much Loved Books and I have come together to create Book Wars to talk about the difference in covers when it comes to the US vs. UK versions.

We hope from time to time authors will chime in with their thoughts as well. We welcome everyone to comment and share their thoughts too! The more the merrier!

Before we get to this weeks Book Wars, we have a winner to announce.The Book Wars winner for Pure (Covenant #2) By: Jennifer L. Armentrout is...!!!!!! Thank you to everyone who voted for both books, and for picking a winner.

Also, there's a poll at the bottom of the post that we'd love to hear your input for the two covers! Tell us which one YOU love the most.

Left: US - Right: UK

Title: The Dark Days Club
Series: Lady Helen #1
Author: Allison Goodman
Publisher: US - Viking Books for Young Readers, 496 Pages, (January 26th, 2016), UK - Walker Books, 496 Pages, (January 21st, 2016)
Add to Goodreads: USA Version | UK Version
Order online here: USA: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository UK: Amazon UK, Waterstones, W H Smith, The Book Depository, Foyles

Synopsis: London, April 1812. Eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is on the eve of her debut presentation to the Queen. Her life should be about gowns and dancing, and securing a suitable marriage. Instead, when one of her family's housemaids goes missing, Lady Helen is drawn to the shadows of Regency London.

There, she finds William, the Earl of Carlston. He has noticed the disappearance, too, and is one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of powerful demons that has infiltrated every level of society. But Lady Helen’s curiosity is the last thing Carlston wants—especially when he sees the searching intelligence behind her fluttering fan. Should Helen trust a man whose reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her headstrong sense of justice lead them both into a death trap?

In The Dark Days Club, internationally best-selling author Alison Goodman introduces readers to a heroine who is just as remarkable as Eona—and yet again reinvents an establlished literary genre, making it her own.

About the Author:

Alison is the author of EON and EONA, a New York Times Bestselling fantasy duology.

Her latest novel --The Dark Days Club-- is Book 1 in a new trilogy, and will be published in the USA and UK in January 2016, and December 2015 in Australia. It has been reviewed by Publishers Weekly as "a delicious collision of Regency romance and dark fantasy". Alison calls it "Pride and Prejudice meets Buffy in English high society".

EON was short-listed for Victorian, NSW, and WA Premier’s Literary awards, and won the 2008 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel. It was also listed as an American Library Association Best Young Adult Book (2010), a James Tiptree Jr. Honour book, and a CBCA Notable Book.

Alison’s first novel, Singing the Dogstar Blues, won the 1998 Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel, and was also listed as an American Library Association Best Book (2004) and CBCA Notable Book. Her second novel, a crime thriller titled Killing the Rabbit, was published in the USA and shortlisted for the 2007 Davitt Award.

Alison was a D.J. O’Hearn Memorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne and holds a Master of Arts. She lives in Australia with her husband and their Machiavellian Jack Russell Terrier, and is currently working on Book 2 and 3 or The Lady Helen series.

Find Allison Online: Website | Instagram | Twitter| Facebook

Let the Wars Begin: Its now time to make our decision, let's see what we think about the covers and pick our favorite cover.

Lisa Oh gosh, what a choice this week?! Michelle picked a great one to compare side by side... I LOVE them both! I honestly LOVE the both. UGH!

The US cover is dark and haunting, yet beautiful. Look at the intricate background.

The UK cover is also beautiful yet mysterious with a side of classic touch of Victorian feel to it.

I mean,... WOW! I have NO idea which one to choose. Hmmm....

I think I'm going to totally go against the grain and pick the US cover. I can't stop looking at it. I just love everything about how dark it is, how haunting it is and the whole feel of the thing from every angle I look at it.

So, this week the US cover gets my vote! Which one do you like the best? Give us a click and tell us below.

Michelle I first heard about this book at a blogger event, and I will admit that this genre isn't usually my thing, but as soon as Allison got up and read a snippet for us I was hooked.

Looking at these covers next to each other, it's clear to me which one I prefer the most. The US cover is dark, and gloomy, with only the silhouette among the shadows, and I think if I hadn't seen the UK cover or it was against the Australian cover, then this would have been my first pick, but standing next to the UK cover, the US one pales in comparison.

I love everything about the UK cover, from the background imagery, to the characters on the cover. I love the font and the little fan images on the corners.

Its a UK win for me this week, which cover gets your vote?

VOTE for YOUR favorite cover of The Dark Days Club by Allison Goodman NOW!

Title: Title: Night Study (Soulfinders #2)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Publisher: Harlequin UK/ Mira Ink
From: e-ARC from Netgalley
Format: eBook, 400 pages, 26th February 2016
Add to: Goodreads
Order a copy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK

Synopsis: Ever since being kidnapped from the Illiais Jungle as a child, Yelena Zaltana's has been fraught with peril. But the recent loss of her Soulfinding abilities has endangered her more than ever before. As she desperately searches for a way to reclaim her magic, her enemies are closing in, and neither Ixia nor Sitia are safe for her anymore. Especially since the growing discord between the two countries and the possibility of a war threatens everything Yelena holds dear.

Valek is determined to protect Yelena, but he's quickly running out of options. The Commander suspects that his loyalties are divided, and he's been keeping secrets from Valek...secrets that put him, Yelena and all their friends in terrible danger. As they uncover the various layers of the Commander's mysterious plans, they realize it's far more sinister that they could have ever imagined.

Review: 5 stars - Contains spoilers for the earlier books in Snyder’s Chronicles of Ixia series.

“HOLY SNOW CATS!” could there be any more action in this book? I need Dawn Study NOW!!

Night Study continues from the cliff hanger where Shadow Study finished. At the same moment of utter happiness for two of my favourite characters, I was also filled with dread at what may happen.

With loyalties on the line and the existing tension between Ixia and Sitia even more stretched, it’s down to our trusted band of beloved characters to save the day again.

Yelena and Valek set off for Ixia after hearing some news of enemy assassination, needing to update the Commander. They leave behind Leif and Devlin to investigate Owen Moon’s curare growing operation.

Upon their arrival at the Commander’s castle, Valek has a meeting with the Commander himself. Learning that he now has restricted power over the lower ranking troops and all missions must be authorised by the Commander. Something seems out of place and where there was once trust between them; the relationship between Valek and the Commander is strained.

With trust proving an issue not only with the Commander but with assassin in training Onora and with unwelcome guests in the castle, Valek finds himself torn. Does he follow his orders or his heart?

With the characters separated on their own missions; will the enemy be able to divide and conquer or can our favourite group of soldiers and magicians once again triumph over evil?

The book is told between Valek, Yelena, Janco and Leif’s points of view, this is easy to follow and it’s good to know what is going on with each character as you read through the book.

Chapter 10 caused me to do a happy dance and squeal, I won’t say why but Snyder’s fans won’t be disappointed.

Night Study is a veritable treasure trove of adventure. You never know where the characters are going to get into trouble next.

A quick mention about the characters. The awesome foursome as I call them, are like friends, not literary characters in my mind.

Words cannot describe how much I love Ari and Janco. If it was possible to bring literary characters to life, these two would be top of my list. Strong, witty and with a caring side, Ari and Janco are like big brothers to Yelena. They will do anything in their power to keep her safe even if it does have a habit of landing them in jail.

I still don’t trust Onora, but it is the skill off Snyder that does this. You want to trust Onora, because she’s lined up to take Valek’s job, but secrets from the past lead us to the conclusion that not all is as it seems.

Another brilliant book from Maria V. Snyder that will immerse you in the world of Sitia and Ixia; so much so, that you don’t want Night study to end.

I need it to be 2017 already!!!

Recommended reading if you enjoyed Sarah J. Maas and Trudi Canavan.

Book Wars a weekly feature hosted between two book review blogs – A Life Bound By Books & Much Loved Books!

It’s a fact that book lovers know all about the covers of the books they covet.  Often when a title is released here in the US, it’s sometimes vastly different across the pond in the US.  So, Michelle from Much Loved Books and I have come together to create Book Wars to talk about the difference in covers when it comes to the US vs. UK versions.

We hope from time to time authors will chime in with their thoughts as well. We welcome everyone to comment and share their thoughts too! The more the merrier!

Before we get to this weeks Book Wars, we have a winner to announce. The Book Wars winner for Night Study By: Maria V. Snyder is.....  !  Thank you to everyone who voted for both books, and for picking a winner.

Also, there's a poll at the bottom of the post that we'd love to hear your input for the two covers! Tell us which one YOU love the most.

Left: US - Right: UK

Title: Pure

Series: (Covenant #2)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: US - Spencer Hill Press, 329 Pages (April 3rd, 2012) UK - Hodder Paperback, 400 Pages (September 18th, 2014)
Add to: Goodreads USA Version | Goodreads UK Version
Order online here: USA: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository UK: Amazon UK, Waterstones, W H Smith, The Book Depository

Synopsis: There is need. And then there is Fate. Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's other half is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her. When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon--and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude--or killing her. When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.

About Jennifer L. Armentrout:

# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.

She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Find Jennifer Online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Let the Wars Begin: Its now time to make our decision, let's see what we think about the covers and pick our favorite cover.

Lisa And since a couple of weeks ago we featured the first book - Half-Blood - from the Covenant series I thought we'd talk about another.

This one is a tiny bit different to the first book. The flower are a bit different and while I still love the US cover, because I own it and love these books... I think I like the UK cover for this one a bit better.

It's cleaner. You can read the fonts - title and authors names - so much easier. And the flower is more stunning to me.

So, it's a UK win for me. Which one do you love? Vote below!

Michelle Like our previous post, I also owned the UK copies of this book, and this is the first time I am seeing the US cover.

For me it's a clear winner. I do like the design of the UK one, but I love how dramatic and ethereal the US cover looks. The flower has a luminosity about it that fits in really well with the darker background.

It's a clear US win for me this week, which cover gets your vote?

VOTE for YOUR favorite cover of Pure (Covenant #2) NOW!