Monday, June 28, 2010

It's Monday What are you Reading?

Last week was spent reading Gone With the Wind and being a general all around slacker. (What's new, right?) So this week I'm gonna aim low lol

Reading:
  1. Fortunate Harbor by Emile Richards (giveaway coming soon!)
  2. The Secret (of happiness) by Demosthenes Armeniades
Continuous Reading:
  1. Gone With the Wind
There you go!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Ravished by a Highlander

FORBIDDEN LOVE

Davina Montgomery is no ordinary English lady. For her own protection, she's been locked away from society, her true identity the Crown's most closely guarded secret. Until a shocking betrayal--and a bold rescue--land her in the arms of a fierce Highlander, a powerful warrior whose searing gaze and tantalizing touch awaken her body and soul.

UNDENIABLE DESIRE

As the firstborn son of a powerful Scottish laird, Robert MacGregor has no loyalty to the English throne, but he's not the kind of man to leave a woman in distress, even if she is English. He vows to deliver Davina to safety, unharmed and untouched. Yet one stolen kiss leaves them both smoldering with desire...and desperate for more. With Davina's secret threatening to destroy his clan, Rob must choose between everything he holds dear and the one woman he can't live without.

My Review:

These books are usually trashy smutty fun. To be quite honest, if I see a half-nekkid man on the cover with ripply abs and a big ole phallic sword jutting out, I think...hmm...no plot. This book definitely challenged that notion. This is really a honest case of the old standard, "don't judge a book by it's cover," because yeah..don't do that. This book is good! There is a LOT of plot and a LOT of good stuff. Front to back, it's full of fun. The characters are interesting and real. The steamy scenes are steamy without being well...too smutty (yes there is such a thing!)

This book was so much fun to read! Just the right amount of action, romance, and naughty bits ;)

I give it a 4.5/5! :)

Music Boxes





I'm not really into girly things, but my little sister is and her birthday is coming up soon, in November! So in my slightly desperate quest to find the perfect gift for her, I have found the perfect online store! They sell beautiful and exquisitely made music boxes! I know she doesn't have a music box so I figured that this would be the perfect gift! She has a ton of jewelry and doesn't have anything really feminine and pretty to store it in. She loves things like this and it would be functional as well!

I really want to get her something special and personal since she is my only sister *awww* and she's been a great one! I love the selection of Musical Boxes for Babies! I mean how adorable are they? The baseball one is perfect for her son! I know she'd love any of the boxes that they have, but I think it's going to be a tough call. It's either the baseball one or anyone of the beautiful Ballerina Musical Boxes. Ah, decisions decisions! It's so hard to pick when they all are so pretty and I wished I could buy them all for her!

**this is an ad

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Blog Tour: Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives


Description:
Suburbia is a jungle, filled with lots of vicious creatures.

Take the Paradise Heights Women’s League board. Lyssa Harper should have warned golden-haired DILF du jour Harry Wilder what he was getting into when she invited him to meet the mommies who run their suburban, gated community. At least he brought cupcakes. Since meeting the former Master-of-the-Universe turned stay-at-home single dad, Lyssa has been his domestic Sherpa, teaching him the ins and outs of suburban life. She just didn’t realize her friends would show up at his house unannounced with casseroles, leopard-print bikini briefs, and plans to rearrange his kitchen cabinets.

The truth is, if Harry and his wife, the neighborhood’s "perfect couple," can call it quits, what does that mean for everyone else? Lyssa’s husband, Ted, is a great father, but he pays her Pilates-pumped momtourage more attention than he does his own wife. Her friends gossip about the neighbors while ignoring their own problems: infertility, infidelity, and eating disorders.

When Harry sets boundaries with his new fan club, he is exiled from the neighborhood’s in-clique. But Lyssa refuses to snub him. What she never expects is the explosive impact her ongoing friendship with Harry will have on her close-knit pals—and on her marriage.


My Review:

I really wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. That is the honest truth. I thought I might have gotten myself into a soapish kind of book. It does have some soapy elements, but the GOOD kind of Soap. (I hope that makes sense?) I was never bored with the characters and never wanted to put this book down. I loved how each character is developed enough that we feel like they are our actual neighbors! I think every neighborhood has that group of catty women that make life a bit more..erm..challenging for the rest. Right?

Not that this book didn't have it's faults. The main couple didn't seem to have any real chemistry. The marriage didn't seem to be based on anything else but the children. The wife is pretty miserable most of the time. Her husband was definitely, for lack of a better word, a bit on the douchey side, but I guess that is the point. Not all marriages that look perfect, actually are perfect.

I rated this one a 4/5!!!

About the Author:

Josie Brown's celebrity interviews and relationship articles have been featured in Redbook and Complete Woman magazines, as well as AOL, Yahoo, AskMen.com, Divorce360.com, and SingleMindedWomen.com. She lives in Marin County, California with her husband and two children.


Other Blogs on this tour:

All About {n}: http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/
The Book Tree: http://thebooktree.blogspot.com/
Books Gardens & Dogs: http://maryinhb.blogspot.com/
Arms of a Sister: http://armsofasister.com/
Booktumbling: http://booktumbling.com/
A Room Without Books Is Empty: http://detweilermom.blogspot.com/
Busy Julie: http://busyjulieblog.blogspot.com/
Bookin’ with Bingo: http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com
The Down Home Diva: http://thestuffyouneedtoknow.blogspot.com/
Me, My Book, and the Couch: http://memybookandthecouch.blogspot.com/
Starting Fresh: http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/
Frugal Plus: http://frugalplus.com/
Avid Reader: http://www.tarmyblogspot.blogspot.com/
Marta’s Meanderings: http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com/
Eclectic Book Lover: http://www.eclecticbooklover.com
Not Quite Susie: http://notquitesusiehomemaker.blogspot.com/
Books and Needlepoint: http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/
Books with a Cup of Coffee: http://bookswithcoffee.wordpress.com/
Knitting and Sundries: http://www.jewelknits.blogspot.com/
Just Another New Blog: http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/
Simply Stacie: http://simplystacie.net/
Booksie’s Blog: http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/
Reminder List: http://reminderlist.blogspot.com/
My Five Monkeys: http://www.tableforseven-julie.blogspot.com/
My Book Views: http://my-book-views.blogspot.com/
Taking Time For Mommy: http://takingtimeformommy.blogspot.com/
I Heart Book Gossip: http://juniperrbreeeze.blogspot.com/
Book Junkie: http://myfoolishwisdom.blogspot.com/
Jeanne's Ramblings: http://www.jeannesramblings.com
Readaholic: http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
Broken Teepee: http://www.brokenteepee.blogspot.com
Tethered Mommy: http://www.tetheredmommy.com/
Just Jennifer Reading: http://justjenniferreading.blogspot.com/
So Many Books, So Little Time: http://purplg8r-somanybooks.blogspot.com/
Reading With Tequila: http://www.readingwithtequila.com/
Book N Around: http://booknaround.blogspot.com/
A Journey of Books: http://ajourneyofbooks.halfzero.net/
Bella’s Novellas: www.bellasnovella.com
CuzinLogic’s Blog: http://cuzinlogic.wordpress.com/
Rundpinne: http://www.rundpinne.com

Monday, June 21, 2010

It's Monday What are you Reading?


Reading This Week: I have a theme...Romance!
  1. Ravished by a Highlander by Paula Quinn
  2. Desire Me by Robyn DeHart
  3. To Surrender to a Rogue by Cara Elliott
  4. Knight of Passion by Margaret Mallory



Read Last Week:
  1. Secret Lives of Husband and Wives by Josie Brown (review)

I will still be reading Gone with the Wind and Drood in the background but I wanted this week to be somewhat light and fluffy.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Savings.com

Yup, I'm just like everyone else on the Planet! I am always ALWAYS looking for ways to save money on the things me and my family need! I cannot say enough good things about Savings.com! They have coupons and codes for almost everything! Seriously, this is a great place to check for deals!

We've run into some issues with our computer lately. It's an older model so we are due for another one soon. My husband loves online gaming so we need something good! I searched for HP coupons and Dell promo codes just to get an idea about what I could find! I found a lot of good stuff! :) I think we're pretty close to making a decision about which computer to purchase next! Woo hoo!

Speaking of saving money, check out Mint. It's a free online budgeting tool that helps you manage your money, set and stick to a budget, and find other ways to save! It is spiffy cool!


**brought to you by your friends at Savings.com

7 Years Ago Today....


...my Husband and I decided to make it legal and we got ourselves hitched! I love my sweet hunk of a man! :) We don't really have any special plans but that's okay! I'm going to cook him his favorite dinner and maybe watch a movie.

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Teaser Tuesday-The Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading and asks you to:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share 2 "teaser"sentences also citing the title of the book and the author and in that way people can have great recommendations if they like the "teaser.
4. Please avoid spoilers



"The trip to Costco with Harry is like a scene out of E.T. "You know, I've heard about places like this," he says, "but I've never comprehended why anyone would shop here."
He changes his mind the minute we pass the Aisle of Man: the one with all the humongous flat-screen televisions at prices that have him drooling." pg. 37 The Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives by Josie Brown

Monday, June 14, 2010

Quick Review: No Hope For Gomez


Okay so I just finished with this book and even though I'm not sure what I just read, I think I like it! Gomez is.....interesting, to say the least. He's quirky and kinda lovable in an oddball sort of way. He has some mental issues for certain!

I love the mix of off the wall humor and suspense! The book is a quick read but definitely worth it! I loved how it was told through blog journal entries! It's a funny, well-written, off beat, suspenseful, crazy, plain old good time read!

I fell in love with Gomez. :)

I gave this book a 4/5 rating!

Insurance Quotes

It's obvious that nowadays you need Auto Insurance. There's just no getting around that fact! There are all sorts of crazy things that could happen on the road and you need to be prepared. I found out the hard way! *AGH!*

But if you're anything like me your budget is super tight! Who has the money to pay too much for insurance? I know I don't! That's why I did a search for cheap, inexpensive, affordable auto insurance (see the pattern in keywords?).

I came across the http://www.automobileinsurance.me/
to find some good and affordable quotes for my car! I found several choices that fit my budget and was quite pleased! Check em out if you are in the market for insurance quotes!


***brought to you by your friends at http://www.automobileinsurance.me

It's Monday What are you Reading?

Read Last Week:
No Hope for Gomez by Graham Parker (review on it's way!)

Reading Now:
Drood by Dan Simmons

To Read:
Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives by Josie Brown (for blog tour on June 22nd)
Mothers and Other Liars by Amy Bourret
Ravished by a Highlander by Paula Quinn (for some smutty goodness!)


This event hosted weekly by Sheila over at Book Journey!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Weekend Reading Plans



So this weekend I'm going to plan to finish No Hope For Gomez and get a good chunk of Drood!

What are you going to read this weekend?

Friday, June 11, 2010

Friday Funnies

funny graphs and chartsI am a HUGE GA fan so this is SERIOUSLY (see what I did there?) amusing for me! Cuz it's totally true!

see more Funny Graphs

Plankton
I have a six year old...'nuff said!

see more Funny Graphs
funny graphs and charts
see more Funny Graphs
Also thank you goes to the six year old. He does this to EVERY single Capri Sun pouch he drinks!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Thinking Thursday

This is me all this week ^ *Think, think, think...Oh bother!* No, really. It is. We have had some financial issues lately that have caused some stress. Tis why you might notice a bit more ads than usual. I'm not trying to spam you all, just pay a few bills!

We've had a new addition to the family too! I went to the front porch to take out the trash and found a kitten (looks to be 8 weeks old) and brought him in. He is TOO cute for words! We've had him for almost a week and a half now and aside from a little eye infection he seems perfectly healthy! He's a orange and white tabby cat. We've named him Lester Sebastian! My son loves him!

I've been looking for ways to make more money from home. With our car situation and childcare it's really hard to think of leaving the house for work, but it may just come to that. So with all that stress and feeling so run down, I haven't been able to read much this week. I was looking forward to keeping up that roll I got on last week, but it looks like I won't.

Okay, that's all. I know this isn't a "personal issues" blog, but I just thought I'd explain a bit what was happening behind the scenes. I'll let you get back to your regularly scheduled program...

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Wednesday Wordle





I stole this from So Many Books, So Little Time! I thought this was a cute idea! Enjoy!

Womenspajamas.com

I love the internet! I love the convenience of shopping online! I love pajamas too! If I could be totally honest, I could stay in my pj's all day long if I could! I love nice cozy pj's and love sexy ones too! *wink wink*

The other day I was in a bad, bad mood, so I went online to look for a comfy set of women's pajamas. I stumbled upon this website that had tons of them! Womens pajamas for all shapes and sizes and prices! I found some very cute ones that definitely lifted my mood! Yay retail therapy!

So if you are in the mood to buy women's pajamas then you should visit womanspajamas.com and have FUN!




*brought to you by your friends at www.womenspajamas.com

Savings.com

Savings.com is a wonderful place to search for coupons and coupon codes. I found so many different stores on here! Like the other day, my husband was in the mood to do a few repairs and was about to head out the door to go to the Home Depot down the street. Before he did I jumped on the computer and searched for Home Depot promo codes and they had some! Savings are awesome!

If you're in the market for a brand new computer why don't you check them out too? Our computer is a few..okay more than a few, years old and we've been talking about it too. We know we like Dells so we did a search for Dell coupon codes and lo-and-behold! They have them!

So yeah, if you are like me and looking for ways to save money then definitely try Savings.com! They will most likely have something for you!

**brought to your by your friends at Savings.com

Ad: www.acheapseat.com

So let's say that you need some tickets to the concert that you heard was coming soon...okay you want to go, but what do you do? Pay full price? Shop around? Got a clue? Well how about you scope out www.acheapseat.com? They have tons of tickets for not a lot of money!

Whatever your tastes, they have it! For instance, if you are in Maryland they have 1ST MARINER ARENA TICKETS and Merriweather Post Pavilion Tickets. The fun isn't just for you guys in Maryland, they also have tickets for those of you in Detroit too! For example, they have COMERICA PARK TICKETS available! Wow, right?

So basically, the next time you have to get tickets you should definitely check out this website first! I know I will!


**this is an ad.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Quick Review: Blood Oath

I know the whole "vampire" thing has been sucked (sorry had to) dry but this book..OMG...this book was awesome! I loved it completely from start to finish. This is exactly how vampires should be like! No sparkly sparkly, no lovey dovey crap, and no whiny little...*ahem* Sorry. Back to business. This book breathes a bit of fresh air into the genre. Cade is a kick ass vampire. He does have a little "Angel with a soul" (Buffy reference) kinda thing going on. Now he doesn't exactly have a soul, but he is cursed to protect the President and follow his and his officer's orders.

There is enough action and grit in this book to satisfy anyone! There is a spot of lovin' in the middle (ish) area..a little vampire nookie, but it's quick and dirty! Call me crazy but that was another plus for me. I'm kinda over the vampire/human love thing. Not that vamps are not hot but yeah..they drink blood. HUMAN blood. That's what they do. They don't feel love for their food.

So yeah, this book hit all the right notes for me. I obviously recommend it for anyone that loves a good vampire novel!

Blog Tour: The Art of Devotion

Book Description:

In the tradition of bestselling authors Ian McEwan and Anne Enright, Samantha Bruce-Benjamin's brilliant and timeless debut unveils the dark side of human nature as four women share the poignant tale of love, obsession, and ultimate betrayal that binds them forever.

Have we all not wished to keep forever the one person we love the most?

The secluded beaches of a sun-drenched Mediterranean island are the perfect playground for young Sebastian and Adora. Emotionally adrift from their mother, Adora shelters her sensitive older brother from the cruelties of the world. Sophie does not question her children's intense need for one another until it's too late. Her beloved son's affections belong to Adora, and when he drowns in the sea, she has no one else to blame.

Still heartbroken years later, Adora fills her emptiness with Genevieve, the precocious young daughter of her husband's business associate and his jealous wife, Miranda. Thrilled to be invited into the beautiful and enigmatic Adora's world, the child idolizes her during their summers together. Yet, as the years progress, Genevieve begins to suspect their charmed existence is nothing more than a carefully crafted illusion. Soon, she too is ensnared in a web of lies.

Stunningly told in the tragic voices of four women whose lives are fatefully entangled, The Art of Devotion is evocative and haunting, a story of deceit, jealousy, and the heartbreaking reality of love's true power.


My Review:

I'll say this first and foremost: I loved the way this book was written. I loved the way the words flowed from the pages all beautiful and descriptive. The characters haunt the pages like pretty weeping angels. The story is touching and tragic. All of the characters have their flaws and passions. Each is real and human. Beautiful.

However, I didn't however, enjoy the flip flopping of the viewpoints. Each chapter is told from one character's perspective. Also, I'm not a big fan of two page chapters, and there were a lot of those in this book. These are the only real problem that I had with this book. Everything else is peachy keen!

Okay, that is my grumping over and done with! This book was emotionally epic with tons of torment and despair woven in with happiness and joy! Each character was interesting and real. I hated/loved each and every one of them! This tale isn't one that you can just put down. After you crack this book open you should be prepared to devote a good chunk of time to reading this!

I loved this book. Confusing character shifts* and whatnots aside, this book was very prettily written, and very good!

I give it a 4/5!

**the confusing character shifts could just be me and my elderly brain...**




Other Tour Participants:

The Art of Devotion: Tuesday, June 8th

All About {n}: http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/
The Book Tree: http://thebooktree.blogspot.com/
Books Gardens & Dogs: http://maryinhb.blogspot.com/
Arms of a Sister: http://armsofasister.com/
Booktumbling: http://booktumbling.com/
A Room Without Books Is Empty: http://detweilermom.blogspot.com/
Literarily Speaking: http://literarilyspeaking1.blogspot.com
Busy Julie: http://busyjulieblog.blogspot.com/
The Down Home Diva: http://thestuffyouneedtoknow.blogspot.com/
Teresa’s Reading Corner: http://www.teresasreadingcorner.blogspot.com/
Me, My Book, and the Couch: http://memybookandthecouch.blogspot.com/
Starting Fresh: http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/
Frugal Plus: http://frugalplus.com/
Avid Reader: http://www.tarmyblogspot.blogspot.com/
Marta’s Meanderings: http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com/
Eclectic Book Lover: http://www.eclecticbooklover.com
Not Quite Susie: http://notquitesusiehomemaker.blogspot.com/
Books and Needlepoint: http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/
Books with a Cup of Coffee: http://bookswithcoffee.wordpress.com/
Knitting and Sundries: http://www.jewelknits.blogspot.com/
The Girl from the Ghetto: http://thegirlfromtheghetto.wordpress.com/
Just Another New Blog: http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/
Simply Stacie: http://simplystacie.net/
Must Read Faster: http://mustreadfaster.blogspot.com/
Booksie’s Blog: http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/
Reminder List: http://reminderlist.blogspot.com/
My Five Monkeys: http://www.tableforseven-julie.blogspot.com/
My Book Views: http://my-book-views.blogspot.com/
A Musing Reviews: http://www.amusingreviews.blogspot.com/
This Book For Free: http://thisbookforfree.com/
Chick with Books: www.chickwithbooks.blogspot.com
Taking Time For Mommy: http://takingtimeformommy.blogspot.com/
Lucky Rosie’s: http://www.luckyrosiescreations.blogspot.com/
I Heart Book Gossip: http://juniperrbreeeze.blogspot.com/
Book Junkie: http://myfoolishwisdom.blogspot.com/
Jeanne's Ramblings: http://www.jeannesramblings.com
Readaholic: http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
Bella’s Novellas: www.bellasnovella.com
CuzinLogic’s Blog: http://cuzinlogic.wordpress.com/

Rundpinne: http://www.rundpinne.com

Monday, June 7, 2010

It's Monday What are you Reading?

It's Monday again! Whew! Last week went by so fast! I read sooo much! It felt so good too! :) This week I have plenty of time and definitely plenty of motivation to read more! Happy Reading!

Read Last Week:
  1. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
  2. The Mark
  3. The Art of Devotion
  4. Blood Oath

Planning To Read This Week:
  1. Drood
  2. No Hope For Gomez
  3. Mothers and Other Liars

Books Reviewed:
  1. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
  2. The Mark

Saturday, June 5, 2010

48 Hour Book Challenge


So I didn't read continusously and I didn't reach my personal goal of 12 hours of reading time BUT I did have fun! I got more reading done yesterday than I did in the month of May!! Woot! I'm going to cheer on the one's that are still going and read a bit more myself.
Maybe next year (or the next challenge) I'll be able to set up things a bit better. No distractions, a babysitter, and snacks! :)

Happy Reading to EVERYONE!

Friday, June 4, 2010

48 Hour Book Challenge Updates


Well here I go! I'm not going to set a time goal on myself but I will try my best to read as much as I can this time! I've got my books laid out and ready and I'm excited! I'll do my best to check in every other hour or so with updates on how I'm doing, but I can't promise anything. I will keep my own log of my times/reading so I'll update it all at the end.

The Challenge goes from this morning til 7am Monday morning..I probably WON'T make it that far! LOL

I'm going to start at 7am CST. That gives me enough time to settle in, feed the kid, the cat, and myself and get started.

7:00A.M.-Starting Line-
Reading: The Art of Devotion by Samantha Bruce-Benjamin-100 pages read
9:00 A.M.-Break-did some housework and took a caffeine break :)
10:00 A.M.-Back to reading
Reading: The Art of Devotion-158 pages read
12:00p.m-The Art of Devotion-
---total hours read so far: 4 hours
1pm-
Finished The Art of Devotion and have moved on to Blood Oath. I now have to take myself away from the computer so I won't update for a while. I'll keep score in my handy dandy notebook and update later! See ya in a bit!
Happy Reading!

4:33pm-
I am back! Read some of Blood Oath then swapped out for First Daughter. Read about 100 pages of Blood Oath and 50 of First Daughter. Had to take a mini-break at 4:00 to snack and ingest more caffeine. So back to Blood Oath!
--total hours so far: (unless my calculations are stupid) 8 hours
7:00PM-
Still reading along. Going to take an hour break for Grey's Anatomy! Then I'll get right back on with the reading! :) See ya in an hour!
Hey I'm calling it a night :( I have a family thing that just came up. :( I guess I made it 9 hours (ish)
I had so much fun though! I read two books! Yay!

To everyone still going strong, WOOT to you! :) Happy Reading!!!!!!

The Physick Book Of Deliverance Dane


The Salem Witch Trials and the time frame surrounding them have always fascinated me. It's an interesting but not so original topic for a book. Katherine Howe has a family tie to this time frame because two of her distant relatives were accused. I loved the description of this book and really looked forward to getting into this one!

Connie Goodwin is an incredibly intelligent woman working towards her PhD. She discovers parts of her family's past when she must prepare her Grandmother's house for sale. She finds a key with a piece of paper, hidden in a key in a Bible. The name on the scrap of paper is Deliverance Dane. She pieces together the story of this mystery woman and finds ties to herself.

She gets pushed into research by her Professor, who seems quite shifty from the beginning. While she researches she bumps into Sam. Sam is quite hot and they start a little something something. *wink* I loved the first part of this book.

I would hate to spoil it so I'll be as vague as I can with the details. This book had me in it's grips from the start. It kept hold of my attention and kept hold til about a little over middle-ish. I don't know where it went South but for me it did.

The story is woven from bits of the past and "present." (The time frame for the setting is 1991) The past being revealed in alternating chapters that tell the story of Deliverance "Livvy" Dane and the "present" chapters telling that of Connie's life and scholastic troubles. I didn't mind this setting, in fact it made the story a lot easier to follow than books that use the flashback shtick.

I was disappointed that the ending was predictable. I had already guessed who the "bad" guy was and what would happen. I felt kinda blah at the end. It didn't really have any effect on me.

I'd give it a rating of 3/5.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

June Plans


So May was suckish on the book front for me. I slacked off completely and really want to make up for it this month! I have sorted out my desk aka "the book pile" and organized a list of the books I want to plow through! I have a couple of blog tours and a LOT of "I wanna reads!"

  1. THE ART OF DEVOTION by Samantha Bruce-Benjamin (blog tour)-June 8th-finished!!
  2. SECRET LIVES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES by Josie Brown (blog tour)-June 22nd
  3. Blood Oath-READING NOW!!!
  4. The Map of True Places
  5. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
  6. Juliet
  7. Drood
  8. Never Let You Go
  9. Nonna's Book of Mysteries
  10. The Lovers
  11. No Hope for Gomez
  12. The Year of the Flood
  13. Heresy
  14. Mothers and Other Liars
  15. Arcadia Falls
  16. Damaged
  17. The Man From Saigon
  18. First Daughter
  19. The Devil's Star
  20. Daughters of the Witching Hill
Okay, these are all my TBRs. I probably won't get 20 in but wouldn't it be loverly? I have two books that I need to finish (rollovers from May) The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane (finished) and The Two Towers, but I have hope.

I'm going to participate in the 48 hour Challenge hosted by MotherReader this weekend so I will get as much read as I can! Wish me luck! :)

Other Shelf Tours: The Mark

Release Date: January 19, 2010

Description:
Cassandra Renfield has always seen the mark—a glow around certain people reminiscent of candlelight. But the one time she mentioned it, it was dismissed as a trick of the light. Until the day she watches a man awash in the mark die. After searching her memories, Cassie realizes she can see a person’s imminent death. Not how or where, only when: today.

Armed with a vague understanding of the light, Cassie begins to explore her “gift,” seeking those marked for death and probing the line between decision and destiny. Though she’s careful to hide her secret—even from her new philosophy-obsessed boyfriend—with each impending death comes the temptation to test fate. But so many questions remain. How does the mark work? Why is she the only one who sees it? And finally, the most important of all: If you know today is someone’s last, should you tell them?

My Review:
This book was a fast read for me. I received it as part of a tour from Other Shelf Tours early yesterday afternoon and was finished by 6pm! The story itself isn't spectacular BUT it is well told and engaging! When I opened it I figured I'd just skim through and get a feel for it, since I had another book that I needed to get into. I flipped it open and started to read lazily but then I looked up and realized I'd been reading for an hour! Seriously, there is something hypnotic about this book. Like I said it wasn't spectacular but it did capture my interest enough for me to finish it in less than a day!

Cassie is written very well. She's real and flawed and believable. The minor characters are decent. I would have loved to see more of Jack. He seemed like a sweet guy and I thought he was sort of short changed on "page time." Lucas wasn't my favorite. He really came across as "meh" and pushy. The story is interesting enough. I would have loved more explanation about The Mark and what Cassie does with it in the future, but with all that I liked it a lot! It is very rare that I find a book that sweeps me up completely enough to forget about time!

After thinking about it and weighing the flaws with the good stuff, I'll give this book a solid 3.5/5 rating!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

We Have Winners!!!


A big THANK YOU goes out to everyone that entered my Blogoversary Giveaway! You guys make me squee so much! I hope to have another one of these next year around the same time!

So I had five books to give away and two people were going to walk away with a great read! So here they are:

First Winner:

Kelly said...
I would like The Stolen One or Jane Slayre.
She gets a copy of The Stolen One!

and my Second Winner:
Missy said...

Congratulations on the blogoversary! May you have many, many more!!

+1 I'd love Jane Slayre
She gets a copy of Jane Slayre!

Congrats to you both and another THANK YOU to everyone that participated! :)

I also posted a review for a wonderful product from Kerasal! It is a wonderful product that makes my feet feel so much smoother and softer! I was given the chance to give away some of this awesome product and here is the winner:

Michelle!



Congrats to all the winners!