Saturday, January 31, 2009
I love Julia Quinn's books, which I stumbled upon on when I was at Barnes & Nobles. I have all of her books except her novellas and I loved reading them. This book is a fairly recent book of hers that I enjoyed reading. Julia Quinn is a very good historical romance writer and I enjoy all of her books. This is the second book her of Dukes of Wyndham Series and was disappointed when I started and finished this novel. I thought it would be a good read even though it's supposed to be about the two of the characters from the first book. But this book is almost exactly like the first book except that it's now in the different perspective of the new hero and heroine of this novel. There were a couple of new scenes in this novel between the hero Thomas Cavendish the supposed Duke of Wyndham and his fiancée Amelia Willoughby. I really don't know else say except that I forced myself to finished this novel because I wanted to see how things turned out for Thomas and Amelia because in the end of the last novel they didn't say anything only hinted on how things would end. I don't think I will be re-reading this novel or the first one anytime in the future and I hope that Julia Quinn writes a better novel in her upcoming releases. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and a picture:
MR. CAVENDISH, I PRESUME $ 7.99 (Book 2)(370 Pages)
There went the bride…
Amelia Willoughby has been engaged to the Duke of Wyndham for as long as she can remember. A mere six months old when the contracts were signed, she has spent the rest of her life waiting. And waiting. And waiting…for Thomas Cavendish, the oh-so-lofty duke, to finally get around to marrying her. But as she watches him from afar, she has a sneaking suspicion that he never thinks about her at all…
It’s true. He doesn’t. Thomas rather likes having a fiancée—all the better to keep the husband-hunters at bay—and he does intend to marry her….eventually. but just when he begins to realize that his bride might be something more than convenient, Thomas’s world is rocked by the arrival of his long-lost cousin, who may or may not be the true Duke of Wyndham. And if Thomas is not the duke, then he’s not engaged to Amelia. Which is the cruelest joke of all, because this arrogant and illustrious duke has made the mistake of falling in love…with his own fiancée!
Friday, January 30, 2009
This is my second book by Shiloh Walker that I've read and I like I said in my first review of one of Shiloh Walker's novels (The Missing) to say this it definitely won't be my last one. I've heard many good things about Walker and I decided to give her novels a try which is how I found out about her contest that would give me a try to sample her work. I won this ARC of her upcoming release Fragile, which comes out in four days on Tuesday, February 3rd. I loved it so much that I finished it in almost a day after I started reading it. In order to win this contest I had to have an established blog, which means I have to have posted fairly regular before posting about this book and I also had to write up an honest review on what I thought of this novel such as if I liked reading it or not.
My honest opinion of this novel is that I absolutely loved it! I think you might have figured it out when I mentioned that I finished it very quickly after I started reading it because I just couldn't put it down for more than 5 to 10 minutes. From the first two or three pages I knew I was hooked because I felt the characters popping out at me with such emotion that is always a good sign that I will be enjoying this novel very much. The hero of the novel is named Luke Rafferty and the heroine is named Devon Manning and they are both such complex characters with very difficult backgrounds that have made them the adults they are in this novel. Six years after trading in his combat gear for hospital scrubs, Luke Rafferty still hasn’t found what he’s been searching for: a normal life. Luke has had a tough time since he was injured in an operation years ago that had him changing his life completely than what he would have imagined. Luke's twin brother Quinn who had a horrible childhood alongside their mother a drug addict has never been a social person and that hasn't changed.
Luke and Quinn had a rough start when they finally met one another when they were both 11 but they have a relationship just like any other identical twin. At his job as a doctor, Luke is faced with things just as heartbreaking as those on the battlefield, none more so than the abused children brought in by a pretty redheaded social worker. That is one of the highlights of his job, which is seeing the pretty redhead social worker even though it's under such horrible circumstances. For Devon Manning, being a social worker is a rewarding job, but also a constant reminder of her own troubled youth. Devon had a harsh childhood ever since both her parents died in an accident that had her sent off to her money hungry aunt for her mother's side. Devon has been in the system just like all of her social worker kids have been but she has been through and done things that sometimes resurfaces when she works with a particular child.
Devon takes everything one day at a time—unable to form a relationship with anyone except the children she rescues so her love life is complelety non-existant. But when Luke meets Devon, he thinks he might have found what he’s been looking for, but in order to get the life he wants. uke has to break through Devon’s emotional barriers and make her realize that his healing touch might be just the complication her life needs. I much enjoyed reading this novel and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to read it before it was made availble to the public so I could write up this review. This is a book that I will highly recommend to every reader out there to get Shiloh Walker's Fragile as soon as it hits the stores this Tuesday, February 3rd. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
FRAGILE $ 15.00 (346 Pages)
BATTLE SCARRED
Six years after trading in his combat gear for hospital scrubs, Luke Rafferty still hasn’t found what he’s been searching for: a normal life. At his job, Luke is faced with things just as heartbreaking as those on the battlefield, none more so than the abused children brought in by a pretty redheaded social worker.
HEARTBROKEN
For Devon Manning, being a social worker is a rewarding job, but also a constant reminder of her own troubled youth. Devon takes everything one day at a time—unable to form a relationship with anyone except the children she rescues.
A DESIRE TO HEAL…
When Luke meets Devon, he thinks he might have found what he’s been looking for, but in order to get the life he wants, Luke has to break through Devon’s emotional barriers and make her realize that his healing touch might be just the complication her life needs…
Thursday, January 29, 2009
I love Julia Quinn's books, which I stumbled upon on when I was at Barnes & Nobles. I have all of her books except her novellas and I loved reading them. This book is a fairly recent book of hers that I enjoyed reading. Julia Quinn is a very good historical romance writer and I enjoy all of her books. This is the first book her of Dukes of Wyndham Series and I enjoyed it even though I've heard other readers reviewing that this book wasn't up to her usual standards. I thought that the hero, Jack Audley, and the heroine, Grace Eversleigh, make a wonderful pair for one another because they have such personalities that can only compliment one another. They also have lived modest lives before they met each other and they aren't snobs who believe they are above everyone else. Jack and Grace are meant for one another but they have things that are trying to break their budding relationship apart.
Jack has found out that he may be the actual Duke of Wyndham just as he has this growing attraction to the companion of his supposed grandmother, which is Grace. Also Grace has a growing attraction to Jack as well since the moment they met when Jack was a highway man trying to take their money and jewelry. I thought that this book was very good and I was looking forward to reading about Thomas Canvedish who was the supposed Duke of Wyndham before Jack was discovered. I read somewhere that you can read both books in Julia Quinn's Dukes of Wyndham series in any order you want but I think you should read them in the order they were released because that is why they were released one before the other. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and a picture:
THE LOST DUKE OF WYNDHAM $ 7.99 (Book 1)(371 Pages)
WILL THE REAL DUKE OF WYNDHAM PLEASE STAND UP? Jack Audley has been a highwayman. A soldier. And he has always been a rogue. What he is not, and never wanted to be, is a peer of the realm, responsible for an ancient heritage and the livelihood of hundreds. But when he is recognized as the long-lost son of the House of Wyndham, his carefree life is over. And if his birth proves to be legitimate, then he will find himself with the one title he never wanted: Duke of Wyndham.
Grace Eversleigh has spent the last five years toiling as the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham. It is a thankless job, with very little break from the routine…until Jack Audley lands in her life, all rakish smiles and debonair charm. He is not a man who takes no for an answer, and when she is in his arms, she’s not a woman who wants to say no. but if he is the true duke, then he is the one man she can never have…
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
I found out about P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast through the amazing website/blog called Free Book Friday, that is founded by author Jessica Brody. I'm so glad that I read and even heard the wonderful podcast interview of Jessica and P.C. talking about her House of Night series. Listening to the podcast about how P.C. and her daughter Kristin came to write the Young Adult series about vampires and finishing school. I had to find out more about this series and to get them immediately so I can read them all. I also recommend that you all listen to it also so you can decide for yourselves if you agree with me about this series and P.C. Cast's inspiration for writing them with her daughter. I'm glad that I bought these books because it didn't disappoint and now I'm a fan of the House of Night series and I look forward to all the future novels in this series. Especially since I found on her website that the next book in the series called Hunted is coming out in March 2009, which is 2 months away.
Untamed the fourth and current release in the House of Night series is one book that had me from start to finish and left me wanting more immediately. Life sucks when your friends are pissed at you and just ask Zoey Redbird—she’s become an expert on suckiness. I feel for Zoey so much because she has gone through hell and back since the time she was marked as a vampyre fledgling in the first book, Marked. In one week she has gone from having three boyfriends to having none, and from having a close group of friends who trusted and supported her to being an outcast. A lot of very horrible things happend to Zoey in the last book that had me so sad and upset for her because I knew that she was being manipulated and tricked without knowledge of it. Speaking of friends, of the two Zoey has left, one is undead and one is unmarked. At the beginning of the book Zoey only has Stevie Rae, her undead friend, and Aphrodite her new unmarked friend on her side while her previous friends are not speaking to her at all anymore.
And Neferet has declared war on humans, which Zoey knows in her heart is wrong but will anyone listen to her? No because Neferet has already put into motion her plans to poison everyone against the very gifted and powerful Zoey Redbird. Zoey’s adventures at the House of Night vampyre finishing school takes a wild and dangerous turn as loyalties are tested, shocking true intentions come to light, and an ancient evil is awakened in P.C. and Kristin Cast’s spellbinding fourth House of Night novel. Like I said this novel left me wanting more and I'm anxiously awaiting for the next book to come out in March and I'm seriously having a hard time waiting. I want to know what happens next for Zoey and her friends now that they have to hide from the evil Neferet and the powerful ancient evil that has awakened once again to make earth a living hell. I give this book 4 Open Books:
Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
UNTAMED $ 8.95 (Book 4)(307 Pages)
LIFE SUCKS WHEN YOUR FRIENDS ARE PISSED AT YOU. Just ask Zoey Redbird—she’s become an expert on suckiness. In one week she has gone from having three boyfriends to having none, and from having a close group of friends who trusted and supported her to being an outcast. Speaking of friends, of the two Zoey has left, one is undead and one is unmarked. And Neferet has declared war on humans, which Zoey knows in her heart is wrong. But will anyone listen to her? Zoey’s adventures at vampyre finishing school take a wild and dangerous turn as loyalties are tested, shocking true intentions come to light, and an ancient evil is awakened in P.C. and Kristin Cast’s spellbinding fourth House of Night novel.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I've read all of Janet Chapman's novel and I love each and every one of them very much. They all are in some part of Maine because Janet is a Maine Romance writer and that doesn't affect her novels it makes them such a joy to read. This is the first book in Janet Chapman's new series called Sinclair Brothers and I'm very excited about reading the next two books in this series because I loved reading this first one. The hero obviously is a Sinclair and he is also the oldest of the three brothers that make up the Sinclair family besides their grandfather. When Sam Sinclair’s self-made millionaire grandfather sends Willa Kent, a woman none of the three Sinclair brothers have even heard of, as his proxy to an ultra-important meeting of the Sinclair shipping company, most people would think the old man had lost his marbles. The three brothers are the only family that their grandfather has and vice versa so they are very anxious to find out who their grandfather will chose to run the company but Willa Kent is a surprise they didn't expect.
But Sam knows his grandfather too well and for some reason, the wily old man has decided that one of his three grandsons should marry Willa, and this is his way of trying to force the issue. So Willa and Sam team up on what seems like a wild-goose chase to find some loophole in Grandfather Sinclair’s crazy notion. It was sad that his grandfather died so soon in the novel because I would have loved to have read more about him alive even though there were pretty funny things said about him throughout the novel. But as Sam crews Willa’s yacht en route to Maine, he finds to his surprise that his grandfather’s offbeat scheme is growing more attractive by the moment. Willa is smart, beautiful…and has a wild streak that sends them soaring together above the clouds. But Willa isn’t about to let Sam fly away with her heart until she knows his true motives. If the man wants to marry for money, the woman in her says that first he must fall in love and in love they are with one another before I finished this novel.
Sam and Willa are such complex characters that have lived totally different lives and have their own outlooks on life that are very different. The make such a wonderful couple and I was glad to see that everything worked out for them in the end but the ending also peaked my interest because I could see that next book would be interesting. The second book would be for the middle brother Sinclair and he already had his own woman problems to deal with that was hinted at the end of the first novel. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
THE MAN MUST MARRY $ 6.99 (Book 1)(343 Pages)
Trying to escape marriage they are snared by love.
When Sam Sinclair’s self-made millionaire grandfather sends Willa Kent, a woman none of the three Sinclair 
brothers have even heard of, as his proxy to an ultra-important meeting of the Sinclair shipping company, most people would think the old man had lost his marbles. But Sam knows his grandfather too well. For some reason, the wily old man has decided that one of his three grandsons should marry Willa, and this is his way of trying to force the issue….
So Willa and Sam team up on what seems like a wild-goose chase to find some loophole in Grandfather Sinclair’s crazy notion. But as Sam crews Willa’s yacht en route to Maine, he finds to his surprise that his grandfather’s offbeat scheme is growing more attractive by the moment. Willa is smart, beautiful…and has a wild streak that sends them soaring together above the clouds.
brothers have even heard of, as his proxy to an ultra-important meeting of the Sinclair shipping company, most people would think the old man had lost his marbles. But Sam knows his grandfather too well. For some reason, the wily old man has decided that one of his three grandsons should marry Willa, and this is his way of trying to force the issue….
So Willa and Sam team up on what seems like a wild-goose chase to find some loophole in Grandfather Sinclair’s crazy notion. But as Sam crews Willa’s yacht en route to Maine, he finds to his surprise that his grandfather’s offbeat scheme is growing more attractive by the moment. Willa is smart, beautiful…and has a wild streak that sends them soaring together above the clouds.
But Willa isn’t about to let Sam fly away with her heart until she knows his true motives. If the man wants to marry for money, the woman in her says that first he must fall in love.
Monday, January 26, 2009
I found out about P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast through the amazing website/blog called Free Book Friday, that is founded by author Jessica Brody. I'm so glad that I read and even heard the wonderful podcast interview of Jessica and P.C. talking about her House of Night series. Listening to the podcast about how P.C. and her daughter Kristin came to write the Young Adult series about vampires and finishing school. I had to find out more about this series and to get them immediately so I can read them all. I also recommend that you all listen to it also so you can decide for yourselves if you agree with me about this series and P.C. Cast's inspiration for writing them with her daughter. I'm glad that I bought these books because it didn't disappoint and now I'm a fan of the House of Night series and I look forward to all the future novels in this series. Especially since I found on her website that the next book in the series called Hunted is coming out in March 2009, which is 2 months away.
In the third book of the House of Night series called Chosen, fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird’s adventures at the school take a mysterious turn from the last book. Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies such as the Head Priestess Neferet. And, oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends such as the former Dark Daughter's leader Aphrodite. So begins the gripping third installment of this very addictive series, in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. This is a hard thing that they are both going through because they still have their friendship connection to one another that can't be broken no matter how undead and different Stevie Rae is from what she use to be. Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity.
Speaking of rare, Zoey finds herself in the very rare position of having three boyfriends, a situation with the potential to spell social disaster. And oh what a disaster that really turns out to be as I read this novel and I can't really believe that Zoey would juggle three boyfriends at the same time. Erik her really sexy fledgling boyfriend is not a boy you should ever consider betraying because once you do and he finds out there is no going back. Heath her wonderfully niave human ex-boyfriend who is has accidently imprinted on has gotten the message that Zoey is a different person now that she's a vampyre fledgling. Now that very dangerously handsome professor Loren is an adult vampyre who should know better than trying to get a relationship going with a fledgling vampyre especially one as special as Zoey Redbird. Then vampyres start turning up dead and that is not good because they're really dead with no possible way of coming back to life. But as Zoey and her friends find out, things are not always what they seem and things are going to be changing for Zoey and her friends especially her 3 boyfriends. I give this book 4 Open Books:
Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
CHOSEN $ 8.95 (Book 3)(307 Pages)
BLOODLUST AND DARK FORCES ARE AT WORK AT THE HOUSE OF NIGHT, and fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird’s adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies. And, oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends. So begins the gripping third installment of this “highly addictive series” (Romantic Times BOOKreviews), in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity. Speaking of rare, Zoey finds herself in the very rare position of having three boyfriends, a situation with the potential to spell social disaster. Then vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. But as Zoey and her friends find out, things are not always what they seem….
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Dorothy Garlock is a New York Times bestselling author and she is even quoted as "THE VOICE OF AMERICA'S HEARTLAND." Dorothy Garlock writings mostly in the time period of the 1920s and 1930s but she also writes in the time period of the 1980s. I personally love to read her books, which I stumbled on to while I was walking around Barnes & Noble one day searching for new books. She is an automatic buy for me because even though I've read that some people thought her novels are repetative I don't think that's true. Schoolteacher Hallie Wolcott, the heroine, and her no-nonsense friend Pearl Parsons know there’s got to be a better place to live than the roughneck town of Whiskey Bend, Colorado. Wow I alway find out the names of some of the states the west of NYC so interesting even if the author has made up the town it's interesting how each small down has a weird name. I especially like it that they usually name it for something the town is either famous for or something important happened in the town and it was named after that. Now when Hallie and Pearl's friend Mary is assaulted by her brutal stepbrother, it’s the last straw for these two women.
Hallie and Pearl pull up stakes, rescue Mary, and put as many miles of Colorado wilderness behind them as they can. But a violent storm soon sends their journey careening in a different direction and that is when things get really interesting for these three ladies on the run. Enter Eli Morgan, a quiet rancher deep in family troubles—and pursued by unseen, ruthless enemies. Eli has come home from being in the army to find out that his family is in shambles and that his father is long dead and buried by his murdered younger brother. Now with Mary’s vengeful stepbrother closing in on them all, Hallie must learn strength, perseverance, and courage…if she is to claim the life and love that can be hers. There is a lot of drama and suspense in this novel because I thought I had an idea on who murdered Eli's younger brother but by the end I found I was completely wrong. I also loved the chemistry that was going on between the female and male characters in the novel such as the heroine and hero Hallie and Eli but also between Pearl and Eli's uncle Hank. I enjoyed this book very much and I look forward to all of Dorothy Garlocks future novels. Here is the book description from the back of the book and a picture:
LEAVING WHISKEY BEND $ 13.99 (355 Pages)
Schoolteacher Hallie Wolcott and her no-nonsense friend Pearl Parsons know there’s got to be a better place to live than the roughneck town of Whiskey Bend, Colorado. When their friend Mary is assaulted by her brutal stepbrother, it’s the last straw. Hallie and Pearl pull up stakes, rescue Mary, and put as many miles of Colorado wilderness behind them as they can. But a violent storm soon sends their journey careening in a different direction. Enter Eli Morgan, a quiet rancher deep in family troubles—and pursued by unseen, ruthless enemies. Now with Mary’s vengeful stepbrother closing in on them all, Hallie must learn strength, perseverance, and courage…if she is to claim the life and love that can be hers.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
I found out about P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast through the amazing website/blog called Free Book Friday, that is founded by author Jessica Brody. I'm so glad that I read and even heard the wonderful podcast interview of Jessica and P.C. talking about her House of Night series. Listening to the podcast about how P.C. and her daughter Kristin came to write the Young Adult series about vampires and finishing school. I had to find out more about this series and to get them immediately so I can read them all. I also recommend that you all listen to it also so you can decide for yourselves if you agree with me about this series and P.C. Cast's inspiration for writing them with her daughter. I'm glad that I bought these books because it didn't disappoint and now I'm a fan of the House of Night series and I look forward to all the future novels in this series. Especially since I found on her website that the next book in the series called Hunted is coming out in March 2009, which is 2 months away.
Betrayed is I'm guessing a couple of days or even hours just after the first book Marked finished and so there are some new problems and excitement ahead for our Zoey Redbird. Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night finishing school with some very cool and loyal friends to back her up in all things. She has a roomie and best friend named Stevie Rae who is a country girl at heart but who is everything she could ever want in a best friend. She finally feels like she belongs, even gets chosen as the Leader of the Dark Daughters, which in the last book was being managed by the diva bitch of the school. Best of all, she actually has a boyfriend…or two, such as human ex-boyfriend from the last book named Heath and fellow vampyre fledgling Eric Night. Then the unthinkable happens: Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night. Which seems very suspicious to Zoey and that gets her really worried for Heath because he is a jock who placed against the boy teenagers who were jocks for their rival team.
While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world. Zoey goes through so much in this book only have a couple of weeks after being marked as a vampire fledgling. I was hooked with the first book and reading this one just sunk me further in to the world of Zoey Redbird and her vampyre fledgling friends. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book because from the ending of this book Zoey's life is just going to get more interesting and harder for her to handle. I give this book 4 Open Books:
Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
BETRAYED $ 8.95 (Book 2)(310 Pages)
Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night finishing school. She finally feels like she belongs, even gets chosen as the Leader of the Dark Daughters. Best of all, she actually has a boyfriend…or two. Then the unthinkable happens: Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world. Betrayed, the second book in the House of Night series is dark and sexy, and as thrilling as it is utterly shocking.
Friday, January 23, 2009
I've always been asked what my favorite book is whenever someone finds out that I love reading. I've never been able to answer that questions fully because I've enjoyed all the books I've read and never had one that stood out more than the others. So I usually answer either with "All the books I've read are my favorites" or "There are to many to name." So after reading April Bostic's romance novel A Rose to the Fallen, I think I have finally come up with a definite answer to that question. So from now on my favorite book is A Rose to the Fallen by April Bostic and I will be spreading the word about this book to everyone who asks me that question. With that said I'm guessing you must now know that I absolutely LOVED reading this novel. I'm glad that I found out about April and her self-published paranormal romance through MySpace. It's kinda funny when I think about how I found her and her novel now that I've finished reading A Rose to the Fallen. The hero and heroine sorta found one another through MySpace in the beginning of the novel almost like I found April and her novel. Now I must say one more thing before I get to my review of the novel and that is to "THANK YOU" April Bostic for writing the most wonderfully sexy, emotionally and fascinating novel I have ever had the pleasure of reading in my life.
Now on to my honest review of A Rose to the Fallen the self-published novel that I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing for April. Do soul mates really exist? Is there really another person out there who was born just for you? And are they the only one who can answer your heart’s call? Those are some really intense questions that I really had to think about after finishing this novel. I came to the conclusion that I do believe that soul mates really exist and that they're the only ones that can answer our hearts call because they were born just for us. I don't exactly think it's as intense and full of paranormal accurences like in the novel but I do believe in soul mates. Bridget Monahan, the heorine, is an elementary school teacher, and she’s about to find out that perhaps soul mates do exist. Her heart is on the mend from many failed relationships, so she’s a skeptic when it comes to find love, and the last thing she wants is to be set up on another blind date. Bridget is such a cool and level headed person who believes in what you can see and touch with your eyes and hands. She is also a good girl who has lived practically a safe and totally normals life with two loving parents in Califorina. She does have a wild and party girl best friend named Autumn who I think compliments Bridget so well because they are almost complete opposites.
However, she is introduced to the charming Tristan Hathaway as a blind date set up by her BF Autumn in the beginning of the novel. Bridget has been set up on blind dates by Autumn and they have all turned out to be jerks or totally not someone Bridget could connect with. So at first Bridget isn't sure that she should meet Tristan at all. But when she got to the party at Autumn's house Bridget’s first impression of Tristan is that he reminds her of an angel with a British accent that makes her knees weak. When they begin their passionate romance, Tristan is able to break her defenses that were guarding her heart for so long, and as Bridget allows herself to fall deeper in love with him, she starts to believe that they are soul mates. She isn't all that confident in their intense feelings for one another especially since Tristan is more than any other boyfriend she's ever had in her past. But she also learns that although his beauty is near perfection, he is not without flaws, and there’s more to him than she ever imagined. Tristan may seem perfect on the outside but on the inside he has issues that he hasn't resolved but I think Bridget is the only one who can help him. Not to mention he can seduce her unlike any man she’s ever known and take her mind, body, and soul to a place of sheer ecstasy.
Bridget unexpectedly becomes the student in this magical love affair and her biggest lesson may be that true love and eternity are bound. Reading this novel was so much fun and I can honestly say that I could hardly put this book down for more than 30 minutes since I started it (except when I went to sleep). I devoured this book in 2 days and when I finished reading it I couldn't sleep for hours because I was thinking about all the love, pain, happiness that Bridget and Tristan went through in this book. It was like an exciting rollercoster ride of emotional situations that made the beautiful true love between Bridget and Tristan such a pleasure to read. I don't know how else to describe how I loved reading this book so I'll stop at that and say now that I really recommend this novel to everyone out there no matter if you've read tons of romance novels or you haven't read a single one in your life. You have to go and buy a copy of this novel right now because I think it might really change your opinion on what soul mates and true love is all about. Now that I've finished my review of the book I want to say something else and it is that I really hope that April considers sitting down and writing up another wonderful romance novel. I think she is so talented and that she would be doing everyone a favor by sharing more of her work with the public and maybe with this novel out she could consider going to an agent or a publishing house so she doesn't have to spend money to publish her amazing work. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
A ROSE FOR THE FALLEN $ 36.49 (658 Pages)(also available in paperback for $25.99)
Do soul mates really exist? Is there really another person out there who was born just for you? And are they the only one who can answer your heart’s call? Bridget Monahan is an elementary school teacher, and she’s about to find out that perhaps soul mates do exist. Her heart is on the mend from many failed relationships, she’s a skeptic when it comes to find love, and the last thing she wants is to be set up on another blind date. However, she is introduced to the charming Tristan Hathaway. Bridget’s first impression of Tristan is that he reminds her of an angel with a British accent that makes her knees weak. When they begin their passionate romance, Tristan is able to break her defenses that were guarding her heart for so long, and as Bridget allows herself to fall deeper in love with him, she starts to believe that they are soul mates. But she also learns that although his beauty is near perfection, he is not without flaws, and there’s more to him than she ever imagined. Not to mention he can seduce her unlike any man she’s ever known and take her mind, body, and soul to a place of sheer ecstasy. Bridget unexpectedly becomes the student in this magical love affair and her biggest lesson may be that true love and eternity are bound.You can find A Rose to the Fallen at these websites, which you can find by clicking on either of the three icons below. Since it is a self-published novel you probably won't be able to find it at your local library unless you ask them to order a copy of it using these two numbers, first one for paperback ISBN: 9781438902593 and second one for hardcover ISBN: 9781438902609.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Catherine Anderson is one of my favorite authors and I have about all of her books except her out-of-print novels which Comanche Moon and the rest of Anderson's Comanche series use to be. So when I found out that her first book her Comanche series was being re-issued I knew I had to get it while it was still in print. I was so glad I did get it because even though it took me a while to get to read it I really loved it so much. I've read a couple of historical romances that involved Native Americans of different tribes and some were about Comanche's so I was really interested in reading how Catherine Anderson's novel would portray them. At first I didn't know what to make of this novel but as I read on I was captivated by the hero, Hunter of the Wolf, and the heroine, Loretta. Now Loretta was orphaned seven years ago after witnessing the brutal murder of her parents at the hands of the Comanche people. So golden-haired Loretta Simpson still lives in terror that the warriors will return for her and do the same horrible things that they did to her mother. Her fear is so powerful, she can no longer speak a word even though her mother's sister and her cousin have tried to get her to speak to them.
Called the U.S. Army’s most cunning adversary, Hunter of the Wolf believes that Loretta is the “honey-haired woman with no voice” of ancient prophecy—the woman he must honor for all eternity. I thought that the prophecy was going to play a really big part of Loretta and Hunter's getting together to become the couple they are meant to be. But Loretta can see Hunter only as the enemy who has stolen her, and she refuses to succumb to his control…or his touch. Despite the hatred intensifying between their peoples Loretta and Hunter gradually find their prejudices giving way to respect, then flaring into feelings too dangerous to express. In the midst of such conflict, it will take all the force of their extraordinary love to find a safe place. I had such a great time reading this novel because it had everything I like in a novel a Happyily Ever After ending that satisfied me without any regrets. I'm so excited to read the next book in the series called, Comanche Heart, because I heard it was going to be re-issued sometime in June of 2009. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
COMANCHE MOON $ 7.99 (Book 1)(483 Pages)
I WILL COME TO YOU LIKE THE WIND…. I AM YOUR DESTINY.
Orphaned seven years ago after witnessing the brutal murder of her parents at the hands of the Comanche people, golden-haired Loretta Simpson still lives in terror that the warriors will return. Her fear is so powerful, she can no longer speak a word. Called the U.S. Army’s most cunning adversary, Hunter of the Wolf believes that Loretta is the “honey-haired woman with no voice” of ancient prophecy—the woman he must honor for all eternity. But Loretta can see Hunter only as the enemy who has stolen her, and she refuses to succumb to his control…or his touch. Despite the hatred intensifying between their peoples Loretta and Hunter gradually find their prejudices giving way to respect, then flaring into feelings too dangerous to express. In the midst of such conflict, it will take all the force of their extraordinary love to find a safe place….
I found out about P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast through the amazing website/blog called Free Book Friday, that is founded by author Jessica Brody. I'm so glad that I read and even heard the wonderful podcast interview of Jessica and P.C. talking about her House of Night series. Listening to the podcast about how P.C. and her daughter Kristin came to write the Young Adult series about vampires and finishing school. I had to find out more about this series and to get them immediately so I can read them all. I also recommend that you all listen to it also so you can decide for yourselves if you agree with me about this series and P.C. Cast's inspiration for writing them with her daughter. I'm glad that I bought these books because it didn't disappoint and now I'm a fan of the House of Night series and I look forward to all the future novels in this series. Especially since I found on her website that the next book in the series called Hunted is coming out in March 2009, which is 2 months away.
Marked is the first novel in this series and at first I had a bit of trouble getting into the plot of the story but once I got a couple of chapters in I was definitely hooked. Zoey Redbird is one unique teenager and her world of having vampyres always existing is a fascinating world. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as fledgling vampyre and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampyre. I think even though vampyres have always existed they are still treated horribly like any race that isn't considered "normal" and that will not change even in this series. But her becoming an adult vampyre is a possibility only if she makes it through the Change—and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx just a couple of hours after she has been marked in a dream of hers. Zoey's maternal grandmother is of Native American descent and her people believe in the Goddess that is the same as the vampyre Goddess Nyx.
Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. I don't know what to make of her human ex-boyfriend Heath because he seems such a jock which is exactly what he is but he's also very into Zoey. He's very different from his friends who really freaked out when they saw Zoey was marked but Heath was very cool with it. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny—with a little help from her new vampyre friends. I'm totally loving Zoey's grandmother because she is the only one who understands her and that Zoey's life is going to change for the better not the worsest. Zoey's new vampyre fledling friends are pretty cool and my favorite is Zoey's roommate and bestfriend Stevie Rae. I love this series even though again it's another book in the first person which is starting to grow on me with each new author I discover. I give this book 4 Open Books
Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
MARKED $ 8.95 (Book 1)(306 Pages)
ENTER THE DARK, MAGICAL WORLD OF THE HOUSE OF NIGHT, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as fledgling vampyre and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampyre. That is, if she makes it through the Change—and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny—with a little help from her new vampyre friends.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I love the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris. Sookie Stackhouse is the main character of the series and she is one funny lady. Charlaine Harris is a very good author and I love her books but I only have her Sookie Stackhouser a.k.a. the Southern Vampire Series but she has other books and another series that she writes and which I've heard are really good. So far there are 8 published books in the series but the 9th book in the series called Dead and Gone is coming out on Tuesday, May 5. I've read the first 7 books before it became it hit HBO TV series called True Blood and though I don't have HBO I've seen the first episode of the show at a friends house. I thought it was pretty good but you know how things are when they turn a book into a movie or TV show. It's not the same but at least you have a visual of each character so when you read the books again or read future books in the series you have an idea of what each character looks like.
From Dead to Worse is the eighth and latest Sookie Stackhouse - Southern Vampire series and I have to say the best of the series so far. After the last book All Together Dead left Sookie with some very serious changes in her life with all these new supernatural creatures coming in and out of her life. The supernatural community in Bon Temps, Louisiana, is reeling from two hard blows—the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the man-made horror of the explosion at the vampire summit the month before in the up-north city of Rhodes. Now what a summit meeting that was for Sookie and all her supernatural associates because there were a lot of underhanded things going on during that time. Sookie Stackhouse is safe but dazed, yearning for things to get back to normal but that’s just not happening. Sookie's life is never going to be the same again because she is already in too deep with all the affairs with vampires, were-animals and other supernatural creatures. Too many vampires—some friends, some not—were killed or injured, and her were-bengal tiger boyfriend, Quinn, is among the missing.
I was so sad that he would just up and disappear on Sookie like that and I was also a bit angry at him too cause only a jerk would leave his girlfriend after such a big disaster. It’s clear that things are changing, whether the Weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie—friend of the pack and blood-bonded to Eric Northman, the leader of the local vampire community—is caught up in the changes. In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death…and, once more, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood flowing, her world will be forever altered. I really didn't expect a couple of very interesting things that happened to her in this book but that doesn't mean it was bad. The opposite is true because it was all so good I devoured it all in less than two days and by the end I wanted Charlaine Harris to publish more Sookie Stackhouse novels. I can't wait for the next novel to come out already since that ending really got me wanting more especially since I read the first chapter of the next book Dead and Gone that is one Charlaine Harris's website. Here is the description of the books from the back covers and picurest:
FROM DEAD TO WORSE $ 24.95 (Book 8)(359 Pages)(also in mass market paperback for $ 7.99 on Tuesday, March 31st)
The supernatural community in Bon Temps, Louisiana, is reeling from two hard blows—the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the man-made horror of the explosion at the vampire summit the month before in the up-north city of Rhodes. Sookie Stackhouse is safe but dazed, yearning for things to get back to normal. But that’s just not happening. Too many vampires—some friends, some not—were killed or injured, and her weretiger boyfriend, Quinn, is among the missing.
It’s clear that things are changing, whether the Weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie—friend of the pack and blood-bonded to Eric Northman, the leader of the local vampire community—is caught up in the changes. In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death…and, once more, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood flowing, her world will be forever altered….
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Today I will be interviewing a newly self-published author who I found through MySpace. April Bostic is the author of a romance novel called A Rose to the Fallen and I found out about April and her new book through a couple of MySpace Groups that we are both members of. I went to her official author website and found out about her and book, which really got my attention from the first couple of sentences she posted about it. On top of that I love the cover of the novel, which is very lovely to look at. I will also have the honor of being the first to review her book here on my blog. So today I will be posting my interview with April and it’s her first interview, but she did so great and I loved reading her answers to each questions. I will also be posting my review of her novel A Rose to the Fallen sometime this month so keep coming back to the blog to find out what I thought of her novel.
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April Bostic: An author never inspired me to write. I began writing because I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could do it. I also wanted to express the story ideas that were overflowing in my imagination. I still have many ideas that I have yet to write.
Phoebe: Did you experiment writing different types of writing genres?
April: As an adult, I’ve only written romance because that’s what I enjoy the most. I’m really not interested in writing a story in a different genre.
Phoebe: What was the first fiction you ever wrote? And do you still have it with you?
April: I wrote short stories when I was a kid, but I no longer have them. As an adult, my first fiction was a Lord of the Rings fanfiction. It’s actually on fanfiction.net.
Phoebe: How much research did you have to do for your novel and did it take you a long time to gather that research?
April: I did research on Brighton, England because there are some chapters that take place there. I also did research on British terms and phrases because I have British characters in the story and I wanted their dialogue to be authentic. I would say that it took a couple days total to gather the information I needed.
Phoebe: How did you come up with the concept for your latest novel and release A Rose for the Fallen?
April: The actor Toby Hemingway inspired me to write the story initially. But I decided to make the story about a young woman meeting a fallen angel because I wanted to write a modern-day story that could be believable. There are people out there who really believe in angels and I wanted to introduce the idea that perhaps they do exist, but they’re in disguise. I also wanted to introduce the idea that perhaps soul mates really exist as well. A Rose to the Fallen was my spin on the concept and how I believe the love can be between two people who are soul mates through sharing a single soul.
Phoebe: Do you have any plans for writing anymore novels like A Rose for the Fallen in the future?
April: No, I don’t plan on writing anymore novels in the future.
Phoebe: Do you have a process of how you start to write your novels?
April: I usually start by writing an outline so I know how I want the story to flow. Also, I only write on weekends or when I’m on vacation because that’s when I have free time. I don’t write when I know I have a time constraint because I find myself rushing. And I know if I rush, I’ll even more editing to do later.
Phoebe: What process did you have to go through to get your novel A Rose for the Fallen published and did it take you long?
April: I submitted my manuscript to Author House after I did research on self-publishing. Because I’m a perfectionist, I submitted many copies of my manuscript and I even had a second galley created. It took about 5 months for my book to go live.
Phoebe: How did you feel when you finally saw your first published book came out?
April: I was very excited because I accomplished one of my life’s goals. But what was even more special was how excited my family was. They really felt like it was a big deal; even more than I did. I think I can understand their feelings because I’m the first published author on both sides of my family.
Phoebe: Why did you decide to self-publish your novel instead of sending it to an agent or a publishing house?
April: Because I wanted guaranteed publishing. When you submit your manuscript to an agent or publishing house, there’s no guarantee that anyone will be interested. Sometimes it could be years before anyone decides to publish it. That is, if you don’t give up.
Phoebe: How do you handle your writing and your personal life without going insane?
April: I don’t write much these days so I’m not stressing out right now. But when I was writing, I only do it on the weekends. I don’t have much of a social life, so it worked out perfectly.
Phoebe: What do you do to relax after having spent a long while writing?
April: I usually stayed up and wrote until the sun came out, so I usually went to bed after I finished. It was amusing to me that I would start writing during the day, keep writing until it was dark, and finish when the sun was up again.
Phoebe: Do you have any hobbies?
April: I collect Barbie dolls and other dolls from the 80’s like Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake, and Cabbage Patch Kids. I also enjoy reading books. I just bought a Hugga Bunch doll from eBay and I’m trying to get my hands on a Jem doll.
Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring writer that you wish someone had given you?
April: Try to sell your manuscript first to see if anyone would be interested in publishing your story. I never thought of doing that because a co-worker sold me on self-publishing and I immediately took that route after I did my own research. But I can imagine that publishing for FREE can’t be beat.
Phoebe: Is there any writing tips or research tips that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
April: I would say that if you’re passionate about a story you’re writing…finish it even if others don’t like it. I gave up on a vampire romance novel I was writing because of criticism. I let the criticism take precedence over the praise I was receiving and it caused me to give up on the story. My #1 writing tip to all aspiring authors writing in any genre is to never give up until your story is finished and you’re 100% satisfied.
Phoebe: Now for a question that I have been meaning to ask an author. Do you have a favorite genre you like to read? Who is your favorite author(s)?
April: My favorite genre is paranormal erotica romance. My favorite author is Charlaine Harris even though her books aren’t considered erotica. They’re paranormal romance so that’s still right up my alley.
* * * *
Phoebe Jordan: Which author inspired you to start writing?April Bostic: An author never inspired me to write. I began writing because I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could do it. I also wanted to express the story ideas that were overflowing in my imagination. I still have many ideas that I have yet to write.Phoebe: Did you experiment writing different types of writing genres?
April: As an adult, I’ve only written romance because that’s what I enjoy the most. I’m really not interested in writing a story in a different genre.
Phoebe: What was the first fiction you ever wrote? And do you still have it with you?
April: I wrote short stories when I was a kid, but I no longer have them. As an adult, my first fiction was a Lord of the Rings fanfiction. It’s actually on fanfiction.net.
Phoebe: How much research did you have to do for your novel and did it take you a long time to gather that research?
April: I did research on Brighton, England because there are some chapters that take place there. I also did research on British terms and phrases because I have British characters in the story and I wanted their dialogue to be authentic. I would say that it took a couple days total to gather the information I needed.
Phoebe: How did you come up with the concept for your latest novel and release A Rose for the Fallen?
April: The actor Toby Hemingway inspired me to write the story initially. But I decided to make the story about a young woman meeting a fallen angel because I wanted to write a modern-day story that could be believable. There are people out there who really believe in angels and I wanted to introduce the idea that perhaps they do exist, but they’re in disguise. I also wanted to introduce the idea that perhaps soul mates really exist as well. A Rose to the Fallen was my spin on the concept and how I believe the love can be between two people who are soul mates through sharing a single soul.
Phoebe: Do you have any plans for writing anymore novels like A Rose for the Fallen in the future?
April: No, I don’t plan on writing anymore novels in the future.
Phoebe: Do you have a process of how you start to write your novels?
April: I usually start by writing an outline so I know how I want the story to flow. Also, I only write on weekends or when I’m on vacation because that’s when I have free time. I don’t write when I know I have a time constraint because I find myself rushing. And I know if I rush, I’ll even more editing to do later.
Phoebe: What process did you have to go through to get your novel A Rose for the Fallen published and did it take you long?
April: I submitted my manuscript to Author House after I did research on self-publishing. Because I’m a perfectionist, I submitted many copies of my manuscript and I even had a second galley created. It took about 5 months for my book to go live.
Phoebe: How did you feel when you finally saw your first published book came out?
April: I was very excited because I accomplished one of my life’s goals. But what was even more special was how excited my family was. They really felt like it was a big deal; even more than I did. I think I can understand their feelings because I’m the first published author on both sides of my family.
Phoebe: Why did you decide to self-publish your novel instead of sending it to an agent or a publishing house?
April: Because I wanted guaranteed publishing. When you submit your manuscript to an agent or publishing house, there’s no guarantee that anyone will be interested. Sometimes it could be years before anyone decides to publish it. That is, if you don’t give up.
Phoebe: How do you handle your writing and your personal life without going insane? April: I don’t write much these days so I’m not stressing out right now. But when I was writing, I only do it on the weekends. I don’t have much of a social life, so it worked out perfectly.
Phoebe: What do you do to relax after having spent a long while writing?
April: I usually stayed up and wrote until the sun came out, so I usually went to bed after I finished. It was amusing to me that I would start writing during the day, keep writing until it was dark, and finish when the sun was up again.
Phoebe: Do you have any hobbies?
April: I collect Barbie dolls and other dolls from the 80’s like Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake, and Cabbage Patch Kids. I also enjoy reading books. I just bought a Hugga Bunch doll from eBay and I’m trying to get my hands on a Jem doll.
Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring writer that you wish someone had given you?
April: Try to sell your manuscript first to see if anyone would be interested in publishing your story. I never thought of doing that because a co-worker sold me on self-publishing and I immediately took that route after I did my own research. But I can imagine that publishing for FREE can’t be beat.
Phoebe: Is there any writing tips or research tips that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
April: I would say that if you’re passionate about a story you’re writing…finish it even if others don’t like it. I gave up on a vampire romance novel I was writing because of criticism. I let the criticism take precedence over the praise I was receiving and it caused me to give up on the story. My #1 writing tip to all aspiring authors writing in any genre is to never give up until your story is finished and you’re 100% satisfied.
Phoebe: Now for a question that I have been meaning to ask an author. Do you have a favorite genre you like to read? Who is your favorite author(s)?
April: My favorite genre is paranormal erotica romance. My favorite author is Charlaine Harris even though her books aren’t considered erotica. They’re paranormal romance so that’s still right up my alley.
Monday, January 19, 2009
I love the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris. Sookie Stackhouse is the main character of the series and she is one funny lady. Charlaine Harris is a very good author and I love her books but I only have her Sookie Stackhouser a.k.a. the Southern Vampire Series but she has other books and another series that she writes and which I've heard are really good. So far there are 8 published books in the series but the 9th book in the series called Dead and Gone is coming out on Tuesday, May 5. I've read the first 7 books before it became it hit HBO TV series called True Blood and though I don't have HBO I've seen the first episode of the show at a friends house. I thought it was pretty good but you know how things are when they turn a book into a movie or TV show. It's not the same but at least you have a visual of each character so when you read the books again or read future books in the series you have an idea of what each character looks like.
All Together Dead is one very interesting book that I really enjoyed reading because I could see that Sookie and so other important secondary characters from the previous 6 books have really developed into complex characters. Sookie has really changed since the first book and it really shows with they way she thinks and reacts to all the supernatural and regular problems that go on in this novel. Being surrounded by all varieties of undead, changeling, and preternatural beings has gotten to be nothing out of the ordinary for Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Still, even she has her limits and I wouldn't blame her if she up and decides to leave everything behind and start a new life with a new name somewhere else. Betrayed by her longtime first vampire love, Sookie must now not only deal with a possible new man in her life—the oh-so-handsome were-bengal tiger Quinn—but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit in Rhodes. Now that is a twist that I really liked about this book because it brings together all these vamps and were-animals and other preternatural beings together for a big meeting.
The summit, which has attracted undead power players from all over the central U.S., is sure to be a tense situation. Well I could almost feel the tension while reading this book and it was GREAT! It was also exciting to see how Sookie is around all these supernatural creatures gathered for a summit that she would rather be anywhere else. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans and there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. I don't like the vamp queen of Louisiana because her and her guard Andre are a real threat to Sookie's life. They are very manipulative about Sookie's powers and the debt that she owes the vampires for saving her life a couple of times. But with secret alliances and backroom deals the order of the day—and night—Sookie must decide what side she’ll stand with because not all of the sides are good for her life. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe that was such a joy to read. By the end of this novel I could tell that Sookie wasn't the same naive cocktail waitress we all knew in the first book Dead Until Dark and that is both a bit sad but it is also a change to be expected. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
ALL TOGETHER DEAD $ 24.95 (Book 7)(323 Pages)(also in mass market paperback for $ 7.99)
Being surrounded by all varieties of undead, changeling, and preternatural beings has gotten to be nothing out of the ordinary for Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Still, even she has her limits. Betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must now not only deal with a possible new man in her life—the oh-so-handsome shapeshifter Quinn—but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit in Rhodes.
The summit, which has attracted undead power players from all over the central U.S., is sure to be a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. With secret alliances and backroom deals the order of the day—and night—Sookie must decide what side she’ll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe…
Well as you know Keta Diablo contacted me about reading one of her three erotic eBooks (Land of the Falling Stars, Dust Moonlight and Decadent Deceptions) so she could get the word out to readers about her lovely erotic historical and paranormal eBooks. I had the hard job of choosing only one of those 3 wonderful books that I really wanted to read. But in the end I chose Land of Falling Stars because it was a erotic historical during the Civil War time period. I love historical romances and I've never read a historical erotic romance before especially during the Civil War so I was really glad to get to read and review this eBook. The heroine Sophia Whitfield is a southern belle but it's almost the end of the Civil War and she's penniless with her parents and brother all dead in slave uprising that killed them in a fire. Her home is the only thing she has besides her two beloved slaves and she loathes all Yankees for what they took from her lands. So it isn't much of a shock that she would shot the first Yankee she sees walking towards her beloved home because she is not going to put up with any Yankee wanting to take all that she has left.
What she doesn't know is that the bluecoat Yankee who was staggering down the hill towards her home wasn't there to steal anything from her, yet. The hero, Gavin Langdale, the dark knight of Sophia's youth is the Yankee she shot but she didn't know that until she ran to him and saw his face. Gavin has been carrying secrets too horrific to imagine from the war that he needs to tell Sophia about but his passionate desire for her pushes them back. As Sophia gradually learns Gavin's secrets—and enjoys his talents in the bedroom—she discovers how to finally know her own heart. This is one steamy hot erotic historical eBook that I devoured as soon as I got a couple of pages in. Even though at first it took me a while to really get into it because I was having a bit of trouble staring at my computer for long periods of time. I enjoyed the chemistry between Sophia and Gavin because they have a totally different outlook on life but they have a connection that they can't really describe.
I think they are both very stubborn with a lot of pride and that is what really keeps them apart from one another. It was really exciting reading this novel and I wish I had a portable eReader to read it from so I didn't have to stop reading it when I wasn't on the computer. Now when I finally finished it I really wanted more Sophia and Gavin because I felt that they should have at least an Epilogue showing me if they got married and had children. But I'm good with the way things ended for Sophia and Gavin and I recommend all you erotic romance readers to go out and buy this eBook because it is a keeper. Now I have to go convince Keta to let me read and review her other two eBooks that I really thought would be keepers too. Here is the description of the book from Ravenous Romance and picture:
LAND OF FALLING STARS $ 4.99 (213 Pages)
Penniless, her parents and brother dead, Sophia Whitfield struggles to save her beloved childhood home during the Civil War. Another bluecoat is staggering down the hill, but before Sophia allows him to rob and pilfer like the others, she shoots him. How was she to know it was Gavin, the dark knight of her youth, carrying secrets too horrific to imagine and a passion that ignites her deepest desires?
As Sophia gradually learns Gavin's secrets—and enjoys his talents in the bedroom—she discovers how to finally know her own heart. Can she survive in the Land of Falling Stars, or will she lose it all to the horrors of the War and Reconstruction? And will the Southern lady and the Yankee soldier be able to recapture the bliss of their youth—this time in each other's arms?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
I love the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris. Sookie Stackhouse is the main character of the series and she is one funny lady. Charlaine Harris is a very good author and I love her books but I only have her Sookie Stackhouser a.k.a. the Southern Vampire Series but she has other books and another series that she writes and which I've heard are really good. So far there are 8 published books in the series but the 9th book in the series called Dead and Gone is coming out on Tuesday, May 5. I've read the first 7 books before it became it hit HBO TV series called True Blood and though I don't have HBO I've seen the first episode of the show at a friends house. I thought it was pretty good but you know how things are when they turn a book into a movie or TV show. It's not the same but at least you have a visual of each character so when you read the books again or read future books in the series you have an idea of what each character looks like.
Now this book Definitely Dead was so hard to wait for to come out because the last book left me so wanting more Sookie Stackhouse. Now there are so many new characters in this novel that I so enjoyed getting to know more about since most of them are paranormal creatures. Sookie's cousin Hadley, who was turned into a vampire months before, was the consort of the vampire queen of New Orleans before her permenant death, which had it's own story in the anthology Bite. And now, as the unexpected heir to Hadley’s estate, Sookie discovers the inheritance definitely comes with a risk that she didn't expect. Someone doesn’t want Sookie looking too deeply into Hadley’s past or for that matter, Hadley’s possessions. And they’re prepared to do anything in their power to stop her, but who could it be who doesn't want anything getting out about Hadley's permenant death? The range of suspects runs from the rogue weres who reject Sookie as a friend of the pack to the vampire queen herself, who could be working through a particularly vulnerable subject—Sookie’s first love, Bill.
Here Sookie finds out something much, much worse about Bill than he previous betrayal that makes Sookie hate him so much more than before. After I found out about how Bill came to meet Sookie at the bar where she worked I was right there with Sookie and I wanted to stake Bill in the heart and somewhere else. Whoever it is that wants to keep matters hush, hush, they’re definitely dangerous—and Sookie’s life is definitely on the line. Now I love the new character Quinn the were-bengal tiger who is really tall, muscled and though he has a shaved head I really like him. I think he is such a good new boyfriend for Sookie even though I think she would also be good with Eric but that is going to take some time to develop. Now I really am totally addicted to this series and I devoured this book so quickly that I had to pick up the next book immediately. And again I'm totally loving the cover of this book especially the bengal tiger that Sookie's riding. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
DEFINIETLY DEAD $ 23.95 (Book 6)(324 Pages)(also in mass market paperback for $ 7.99)
As a person with so few living relatives, Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse really hated to lose one. But she never guessed that it would be her cousin Hadley—a consort of the vampire queen of New Orleans. After all, technically speaking Hadley was already dead. And now, as unexpected heir to Hadley’s estate, Sookie discovers the inheritance definitely comes with a risk. Someone doesn’t want Sookie looking too deeply into Hadley’s past—or for that matter, Hadley’s possessions. And they’re prepared to do anything in their power to stop her. But who? The range of suspects runs from the rogue weres who reject Sookie as a friend of the pack to the vampire queen herself, who could be working through a particularly vulnerable subject—Sookie’s first love, Bill. Whoever it is, they’re definitely dangerous—and Sookie’s life is definitely on the line…
I found out about newly published author Amanda Ashby through the amazing website/blog called Free Book Friday, that is founded by author Jessica Brody. I'm so glad that I read and even heard the wonderful podcast interview of Jessica and Amanda about her first novel You Had me at Halo. Listening to the podcast about how Amanda came to write her first novel was so wonderful to listen to and understand how the concept come to be. I had to find out more about this novel and to get it immediately so I can read it. I also recommend that you all listen to it also so you can decide for yourselves if you agree with me about this book and Amanda Ashby's inspiration for writing it. I'm glad that I bought this book because it didn't disappoint and now I'm a fan of Amanda Ashby's work and I look forward to any of her future novels. Especially since I found on her website that she will have a Young Adult novel called Zombie Queen of Newbury High, about high school kids and zombies, which is a wonderful combination in my opinion.
Now for the book I thought that Holly Evans is such a wonderful character that needed a reality check and her dying and then coming back in a man's body is a BIG reality check. Holly seemed like a self-involved person with only her own personal gain on the top of her list and she doesn't seem to notice anyone who isn't of her status level. So here comes in Vince Murphy the computer geek who use to be friends with Holly when they were children until he moved away. They also work for the same company but don't hang with one another because they are both in totally different status levels at the company. These two characters are very different but yet so much alike that they completely make a wonderful couple together but don't know it. Holly has some mortal baggage to unload first, starting with the matter of how she died because she drowned in her bathtub under suspicious circumstances, but she did not kill herself. Holly had too much to live for, from her recent promotion to taking the next step in her relationship with her boyfriend who also works with her at the company.
Her life had a few loose ends in her life but her heavenly shrinks wants her to resolve them before she can get into any of the upper levels of heaven. He says she has to return to Earth to straighten things out but the problem is, she’ll need to borrow someone’s body to do so, and the body in question belongs to none other than computer geek Vince Murphy. Although Vince was supposed to have vacated the premises, he apparently never got the memo because he was only unconsious for a couple of hours before he came too with Holly in his body. This was one book that I will always remember and will always treasure because it was funny, romantic and exciting to read. I really had a hard time putting the book down the entire time I was reading it and by the time I finished it I really wanted Amanda Ashby to have written a sequel because it looked like Holly's life was only getting more exciting at the end. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
YOU HAD ME AT HALO $ 12.95 (288 Pages)
She’s halfway to heaven…and she’s just been pulled over.
Holly Evans has just seen her own body laid to rest, and if it had been up to her, she wouldn’t have chos
en that particular polyester dress for the event. Still, she could live with that (so to speak), if it guaranteed a quick jump to Level 3 of the afterlife, which she hopes will feature both reruns of Friends and reunions with long-lost loved ones.
But Holly has some mortal baggage to unload first, starting with the matter of how she died. Yes, she drowned in her bathtub under suspicious circumstances, but she did not kill herself. Holly had too much to live for, from her recent promotion to taking the next step in her relationship. OK, her life had a few loose ends, but whose doesn’t? Holly’s heavenly shrink isn’t buying it. He says she has to return to Earth to straighten things out. The problem is, she’ll need to borrow someone’s body to do so, and the body in question belongs to none other than computer geek Vince Murphy. Oh, and although Vince was supposed to have vacated the premises, he apparently never got the memo.
en that particular polyester dress for the event. Still, she could live with that (so to speak), if it guaranteed a quick jump to Level 3 of the afterlife, which she hopes will feature both reruns of Friends and reunions with long-lost loved ones.
But Holly has some mortal baggage to unload first, starting with the matter of how she died. Yes, she drowned in her bathtub under suspicious circumstances, but she did not kill herself. Holly had too much to live for, from her recent promotion to taking the next step in her relationship. OK, her life had a few loose ends, but whose doesn’t? Holly’s heavenly shrink isn’t buying it. He says she has to return to Earth to straighten things out. The problem is, she’ll need to borrow someone’s body to do so, and the body in question belongs to none other than computer geek Vince Murphy. Oh, and although Vince was supposed to have vacated the premises, he apparently never got the memo.
Now Holly has forty-eight hours to resolve her issues while sharing arms, legs, and…other things with a guy she barely noticed while she was alive. But the real surprise is what life has to offer when you have only two days to live it.
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