High Summer Read-a-Thon-Day-Last Day

Today is the last day of the 'thon and I'm going to squeeze as much reading in as I can! I have finished 2 books so far and want to finish at least one more! I've got work today so I probably won't get much more than that done.

I'm still trying to finish:

High Summer Read-a-Thon-Day 6

So I finished my 2nd book last night! I'm going to focus on trying to finish The Eyes of the Dragon and get at least halfway into The Lost by Caridad Pineiro!

and

High Summer Read-a-Thon-Day 5

I'm still reading The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry. I'm not sure what's going on with me but I'm still trying! Gotta give me credit for that right.....*pouts* right?
Starting Page: 32
Ending page:266
Finished! 

High Summer Read-a-Thon-Day 4

So it's day 4 and although I haven't read as much as I wanted I have still had so much fun! I'm going to try to chug through today and see what I can do! I have work but I won't let that get me down! :)

Day 4 Update 1
Book: The Girls of Murder City



Starting Page: 14
Ending Page: 32

High Summer Read-a-Thon-Day 3

I'm starting where I left off yesterday! I have to work today, but every moment I get my nose will be in a book! I have goals people! Goals I tells ya! *Shakes fists*

Ahem! Now on to my reading.

Day 3 Update 1

Book: Zone One by Colson Whitehead


Starting Page:73

Ending Page: 78

As you can see I didn't do very well today! I just couldn't stay focused for some reason. :(

High Summer Read-a-Thon-Day 2

So it's day two! I've finished one book and am starting on my second! My husband and I had a mini-marathon of Heroes last night so I didn't read much after my last update.  Sooo here I am today starting The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King.I'm not sure if I'll like it but I'm going to give it a chance! I don't work today so reading time should be plenty! Happy Reading and don't forget about #HSreadathon on Twitter!

Day 2 Update1
Second Book: The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King



Books Read: 0 Finished
Pages Read: 143 pages

Day 1 Update 2
Book: Zone One by Colson Whitehead


Starting Page:60
Ending Page:73

Final Totals:
Books Read: 0
Pages Read:156

High Summer Read-a-thon: Challenge

This challenge is hosted by the Book Snob. We're to post pictures of the locations/actual palces from one of the books we are reading. I'm currently reading What a Demon Wants by Kathy Love


In it the main character Ellina lives in a shotgun style (modified) house in New Orleans, Louisiana. I've found a picture of a similar home...although I don't think her's is pink. I would totally live in this sort of house! Heck! I'd even leave it pink!

I also included a picture of the French Quarter! I've totally been to this place too! :) I love New Orleans!

High Summer Read-a-Thon-Starting Post

It started last night at midnight, but I'm old so I am starting it now! It's 7am and my reading time is beginning with the book, What a Demon Wants by Kathy Love on my Nook!


I have work today but only for a few hours plus a trip to the grocery store, but after that I'm seriously getting down to some action. I'm planning on reading my butt off this 'thon! I'm probably not going to do a lot of updates, but I will update everyday! :)  PS-use #HSreadathon on Twitter to chat with us as we read!

My update format will look like this:

Day 1 Update 1
Books Read: 1
Pages Read: 202

High Summer Read-a-Thon! I'm in! :)

So there's another read-a-thon starting this Monday! Michelle over at The True Book Addict is hosting this one and BIG SHOCKER I'm joining up! ;) So why don't you clicky on the button up there to join in too? :)

My LOPR (list of possible reads):

1. The Girls of Murder City
2. Zone One
3. The Mists of Avalon
4. To the Lighthouse
5. Enclave
6. Clockwork Angel
7. Royal Assasin
8. Letterbox bye Cameron Trost
9. Halo
10. Hex Hall
11. A Game of Thrones
12. The Way of Kings

Just to name a few! I could read from this list or toss it out the window and read something else! :) It's a week long event! Reading time is plenty! :) You don't have to commit to reading all the time either! Just when you can and where you can :) 

What's On the Menu this Weekend?

I'm trying to catch up on To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. I'm not sure if I'm still a member of the read-a-long hosted by Wallace, but I have this strange motivation to finish it. So I will! As I read I find it fascinating to delve deeper into this woman's really freakin' scattered brain! (Kind of reminds me of myself sometimes!)

Zone One is a very different kind of zombie book. I'm really enjoying it. It's not JUST another horror based novel. It's more about the loneliness that one would feel after half the world has been turned to a biting mass. It's definitely interesting and unique!

and finally...

I've just started this book, so I can't really give much in the way of my opinion but I can tell I'm going to like it. I think it's very interesting how female criminals (especially pretty ones) are treated differently that plain women. This is just as true now as it was back then! I can't wait to read more!

So these are the books I plan on reading this weekend!

Quick Review: Overbite

Blurb: 

Meena Harper has a special gift, but it's only now that anyone's ever appreciated it. The Palatine Guard — a powerful secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican — has hired her to work at their new branch in Lower Manhattan. With Meena's ability to predict how everyone she meets will die, the Palatine finally has a chance against the undead.

Sure, her ex-boyfriend was Lucien Antonescu, son of Dracula, the prince of darkness. But that was before he (and their relationship) went up in flames. Now Meena's sworn off vampires for good ... at least until she can prove her theory that just because they've lost their souls doesn't mean demons have lost the ability to love.

Meena knows convincing her co-workers — including her partner, über-demon-hunter Alaric Wulf — that vampires can be redeemed won't be easy ... especially when a deadly new threat seems to be endangering not just lives of the Palatine, but Meena's friends and family as well.

But Meena isn't the Palatine's only hope. Father Henrique — aka Padre Caliente — New York City's youngest, most charming priest, has also been assigned to the case.

So why doesn't Meena — or Alaric — trust him?

As she begins unraveling the truth, Meena finds her loyalties tested, her true feelings laid bare ... and temptations she never even imagined existed, but finds impossible to resist.

This time, Meena may finally have bitten off more than she can chew?

My Review:

This sequel to Insatiable lives up fully to it's predecessor! Meena is still pretty kick ass and the boys are still so very very yummy! The action is on par with the steady flow of the first book and doesn't feel forced or hurried!  The first book was awesome and Overbite steps right into Insatiable's shoes and continues to strut it's awesomeocity! *yes I made up a word* With a steady stream of witty dialogue and fun, it's bound to keep fans of romance AND vampires very very happy!

The only problem I had was that it was too short! I want moar! NOW! *pout*

Blog Tour: Darkhouse

Blurb:

There’s always been something a bit off about Perry Palomino. Though she’s been dealing with a quarter-life crisis and post-college syndrome like any other twenty-something, she’s still not what you would call “ordinary.” For one thing, there’s her past which she likes to pretend never happened, and then there’s the fact that she sees ghosts. Luckily for her, that all comes in handy when she stumbles across Dex Foray, an eccentric producer for an upcoming webcast on ghost hunters. Even though the show’s budget is non-existent and Dex himself is a maddening enigma, Perry is instantly drawn into a world that both threatens her life and seduces her with a sense of importance. Her uncle’s haunted lighthouse provides the perfect catalyst and backdrop for a mystery that unravels the threads of Perry’s fragile sanity and causes her to fall for a man, who, like the most dangerous of ghosts, may not be all that he seems

My Review:
This creepy tale is written in a very clever and witty way. I am a lover of all things creepy and supernatural so of course I signed up to review this! It's got just enough to keep you on your toes! Perry is a realistic and smart character that I think everyone could relate to in some way.

The story itself was full of the creepy things that make me a happy camper. A spooky lighthouse, bad dreams, and random things that go bump in the night! Yes! I would say that this is a solid quick read for those that thoroughly enjoy the supernatural!

Tour Stops:
7/20  review @ A Chick Who Reads
7/21  review @ Fameless Ramblings
7/23  guest post & giveaway @ Getting Naughty Between the Stacks
7/23  guest post @ A Chick Who Reads
7/23  guest post & giveaway @ Romancing the Darkside
7/25  guest post @ Aobibliosphere
7/26  guest post @ In The Name of Books
7/26  guest post @ Keeping Up With the Rheinlanders
ANY   review @ The Phantom Paragrapher
7/28  giveaway @ EARphoria
7/29  review @ In The Name of Books

**i was given a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review! the opinions expressed are my own!***

Tuesdays Hop

This is a new hop that I've found! I think the "parent" blog is really awesome! Check it out! Click the button and join in the hop! :)

Looking to gain more followers on your blog?

Link-up with  One Little Mister & Mommy PR every Tuesday for

To-the-TOP Tuesday Blog Hop!

Blog Tour: The Tinkerer's Daughter

Blurb: (goodreads)
Breeze is an outcast, a half-breed orphan born into a world torn apart by one thousand years of war. Breeze never knew her elven mother. When her father -a human soldier- is called back to the war, he leaves Breeze in the safest place he knows: in the care of a reclusive tinker. The Tinkerman's inventions are frightening at first; noisy, smelly, dangerous machines that have little practical use. But elves mature quickly, and Breeze is no exception. When the war comes home, Breeze sees an opportunity. If she succeeds, she will change the world forever. If she fails, Breeze will be considered a traitor to both countries and she'll be hunted to her death.

My Review:

You know that feeling you get when your completely and utterly taken by surprise and it's a GOOD thing? Well this just happened to me! I expected this to be a quick read..nothing majorly good or bad, but once I started in my attitude changed. I found myself lost in the story of Breeze, the half-human and half Tal'mar girl, who is left with Tinker so her father can go back to war. She's a half-breed in a world full of fear and hatred. Tinker, who true to his name, builds all sorts of machines.  Luckily for Breeze, Tinker isn't prejudiced against the Tal'mar and accepts Breeze for who she is.

The tale continues into flurry of action and adventure! Breeze comes of age and finds herself a military diplomat, a pilot, a spy, and a daughter. There is so much going on in this short book but never once did it feel rushed or overdone. I won't say that this is for everyone, because it's not.  If you enjoy a fun (clean) fantasy story that has a great message, then the Tinkerer's Daughter might just be your cup of tea! I loved it and I do recommend it.

That oughta teach me for judging a book by it's cover!


Tour Stops:

7/18  giveaway @ Young Readers at Home
7/18  review @ That Bookish Girl
7/19  excerpt @ It's All About Books
7/20  guest post & giveaway @ EARphoria
7/20  guest post & giveaway @ Reviews By Molly
7/20  review @ Comacalm's Corner
7/22  giveaway @ Lisa's World of Books
7/22  guest post @ Aobibliosphere
7/23  excerpt @ Just Another Book Addict

Alternate stops:  (only used if regularly scheduled stops fall through for some reason)
7/19  guest post @ That Bookish Girl
7/17  excerpt @ Young Readers at Home
7/20  excerpt @ Lisa's World of Books
7/20  guest post @ It's All About Books


**fine print** I was provided a free copy of this book (in ebook form) in order to provide an honest review. no money was exchanged and all comments and opinions expressed in my review are mine and mine alone! 

BlogFest2011 Winner

Sheila Hickmon

who won a  copy of Divergent!

Review: Wither

Blurb:

What if you knew exactly when you would die?
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb — males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape — to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

My Review:

Wither was awesome! I didn't really know much about it going in and have to admit to taking my sweet sweet time picking it up! That was my big mistake!  

Rhine is a very sympathetic character from the start. Her parents are dead and all she has is her brother and their run down home. She can't go outside,  once she hits a certain age, because she could  get snatched up and sold off to be treated like a brood mare! She learns to be tough and independent. 

One day however, she finds herself in a dark van full of girls and no way of knowing where she is or where they will end up. The van stops, they get out...a man picks a few of them...the rest...Well you'll have to read to know what happens then.

  

Rhine finds herself in a mansion and is introduced to her new fiancee and his other "future wives." She knows she's been stolen from everything she knows  just to be used to breed. She's basically a slave. A slave that has nearly all her whims catered too, but a slave nonetheless. She isn't granted what she really desires...freedom. 

There were a few parts that I would have liked the writer to delve into a little bit more. Rhine's past is still somewhat of a mystery to us, and left unsaid.  I would have loved to have learned more about her family and definitely more about her brother. Maybe this will be explained or introduced in the next book? 

All in all, I really loved  Wither! It was a quick and interesting read! I highly recommend it!

I Love This!

BlogFest 2011

p
Hey there peoples of the internets! How are ya? This is my first time participating in this awesomesauce event! I'm stop #192! Tons of other blogs are also joining in the fun and giving away a buttload of prezzies just for you! Ain't that swell?

So you wanna know what I have for you? Well here they be!

One (1) winner will receive a brand spankin' new copy of either of these excellent books! I've read both and love them BOTH and now if you win you can see how awesome they are!
First Up:
The Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar

or a copy of..

Divergent


How to Enter:
I'm making it easy for you by giving you a simple little form to fill out. You don't have to be a follower, but it is appreciated!
Giveaway will run from July 15th-17th and the winner will be picked and announced on or before the 20th. Prize will be purchased from Amazon.com and shipped to the winner's home!
(ONLY ONE BOOK WILL BE GIVEN TO THE WINNER)






Please Follow these links to visit the next five blogs participating and GOOD LUCK!

193 For Those About to Read...

194 Once Upon a Twilight!

195 Livre De Amour-Books of Love Blog

196 Margaret West

197 At Home With Books

198 Aubut Family

199 Under the Covers

200 Whilrwind of Surprises

201 Obsession with Books

For the complete Master List visit: http://www.ajourneyofbooks.com

Hey did you know you can also track the blogs you have visited? Each blog that you track as having visited earns you another entry into a special giveaway -Here's the link http://blogfest.ajourneyofbooks.com.