If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ve probably seen my gushing reviews for Scarlet and Lady Thief.  If not, here is the first and the second.  I’ll give you a second to go check them out.

While I haven’t had the chance to read Lion Heart just yet (it’s on the TBR for this month!) I pretty confident that I will love it.  When I was asked to be part of the blog tour, I jumped at the chance.  I’ve got an awesome guest post and giveaway for you guys so check them out and get started on this trilogy if you haven’t already!

The eagerly-awaited conclusion to the Scarlet trilogy delivers another action-packed and romance-filled adventure.

Scarlet has captured the hearts of readers as well as the heart of Robin Hood, and after ceaseless obstacles and countless threats, readers will finally find out the fate of the Lady Thief.

Imprisoned by Prince John for months, Scarlet finds herself a long way from Nottinghamshire. After a daring escape from the Prince’s clutches, she learns that King Richard’s life is in jeopardy, and Eleanor of Aquitaine demands a service Scarlet can’t refuse: spy for her and help bring Richard home safe. But fate—and her heart—won’t allow her to stay away from Nottinghamshire for long, and together, Scarlet and Rob must stop Prince John from going through with his dark plans for England. They can not rest until he’s stopped, but will their love be enough to save them once and for all?

 

Top 10 Favorite Songs

Let’s talk methodology.  My first attempt was to look at iTunes and see how many times I’ve played every song, and pull the top ten out of that.  But I think that’s very weirdly weighted, because there’s no way all these recent songs are my top 10 all time plays:

Not that it’s wildly off base—I do love songs that feature my name (Sweet Annie), and Taylor Swift, and OMG that remix of Seven Nation Army is DEFINITELY one of my all time favorites.  But Battleships?  That’s pretty new and not one of my go-tos.  What’s going on here? 

So now I think I’ll have to try harder and give you my ALL TIME TOP TEN.  I think that rather than songs that make me feel a certain way, these are songs that actually kind of get to the core of ME—who I am as a human. 

Kryptonite, by 3 Doors Down

This song is literally my favorite love song of all time.  This is my kind of love—“if I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?”  #ThisIsWhyI’mSingle…

Far Away by Ingrid Michaelson

This is legitimately my fantasy of happiness, living on an island in the ocean and having babies with strawberry curls and a husband that smells like the ocean.  It makes me feel like I’m folded in my favorite sweater.

Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap

God, this song is just emotional.  This is the song I turn to when I’m a little bit broken—it feels so jagged and raw, and the weird contrast of how stark and also how digitized her voice is just cuts me.  It makes me feel like it’s ok to break down a little.

Demons by Imagine Dragons

I’ve always felt like I have a lot of darkness inside of me—and you can definitely see some of my feelings about that reflected in Scarlet, particularly in her journey during Lion Heart.  There’s a scene when Margaret is talking to her in a graveyard about how Scarlet chooses her darkness over her light, and I’ve felt like that so often.  Even though sometimes I feel like that darkness and anger is one of the only things that’s truly mine and no one else’s, this song reminds me that I don’t have to hold on so hard to that.

All About Your Heart by Mindy Gledhill

Ah—okay, I do have a sweet side, despite everything above!  This song is just beautiful and sweet and lovely and makes me feel like a pretty girl in a pretty dress.  “Oh/I’ve loved you from the start/In every single way/and more each passing day/you are brighter than the stars/believe me when I say/it’s not about your scars/it’s all about your heart.”  <3 <3

Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance

“I am not afraid to keep on living/I am not afraid to walk this world alone”—Preach, MCR.  Preach.  Like I said, guys, I have an angry side!  One that I usually like to indulge alone in the car with loud music while I’m mentally cursing at bad drivers.

You May Be Right by Billy Joel

“Remember how I found you there/alone in your electric chair/ I told you dirty jokes until you smiled?” Dude, this is my personality down to a T.  Give me a crisis, and I will not only be steadfast by your side, but I will be making that’s what she said jokes right up until go-time.   Plus, Billy Joel, guys.  What’s not to love?

The Fire by the Roots

So, about two weeks before I got The Call, my friend Alex sent me a message and said “I think you’ll like this song.  It reminds me of you”.  I started listening to it non-stop, became totally obsessed with it, and when I was crying in the car after receiving The Call that Scarlet was going to be published, this was the first song that came on.  “You don’t say good luck/you say don’t give up”—yeah, I was pretty touched that this made my friend think of me, and I continue to keep it as my spirit animal song.   And actually, I don’t think fans of the series will be even a tiny bit surprised to find that language very strongly mirrored throughout the Scarlet Trilogy.

Life Less Ordinary by Carbon Leaf

All of my hopes and dreams in a single song.  Though it was a pretty close choice between this and their songs “Grey Sky Eyes” and “Shine”, for similar reasons.  But this one is just pretty and happy—“live a life less ordinary, live a life extraordinary with me”.  That’s all I want—not much to ask for.  Just an extraordinary life.

Run by Snow Patrol

I actually can’t really talk about how much this song means to me without getting insanely emotional.  Do you ever feel like someone gave you a song as a gift?  A friend introduced me to this song—long before Snow Patrol made fetch happen and they were just an unheard-of band in her hometown—and died soon after.  “Light up, light up, as if you had a choice”—every time I hear this song I remember her, and I associate other loss in addition to hers, and I remember to fight.  You have to fight to be happy—you have to light up.  Because you’re stunning, and the world is just waiting for you to show it.

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