Drinks anyone?

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton


The first night after Caroline moves into her fantastic new San Francisco apartment, she realizes she's gaining an intimate knowledge of her new neighbor's nocturnal adventures. Thanks to paper-thin walls and the guy's athletic prowess, she can hear not just his bed banging against the wall but the ecstatic response of what seems (as loud night after loud night goes by) like an endless parade of women. And since Caroline is currently on a self-imposed dating hiatus, and her neighbor is clearly lethally attractive to women, she finds her fantasies keep her awake even longer than the noise. So when the wallbanging threatens to literally bounce her out of bed, Caroline, clad in sexual frustration and a pink baby-doll nightie, confronts Simon Parker, her heard-but-never-seen neighbor. The tension between them is as thick as the walls are thin, and the results just as mixed. Suddenly, Caroline is finding she may have discovered a whole new definition of neighborly.



Rate & take






Heat Index 3 ☼☼☼


This is book one of the Cocktails series, and in case you hadn't guessed it, each book is named after an alcoholic beverage. Very cute, as was this read. The story itself created a meet cute for these two neighbors sharing one very thin wall. The rest of the story continued at a nice pace and was entertaining. If you are looking for a beach type read I think this is a decent one.

Peachy star close

Starfire by Mimi Strong


Peaches Monroe works at a bookstore in small town Washington. She's also a plus-size lingerie model, and the former girlfriend of Dalton Deangelo. He's the sexy, smoldering actor who plays TV's hottest vampire.

Now Dalton is back in town, hiding out from his past and a ton of bad publicity.

He can't keep his hands off Peaches, even though she's dating someone else.

Peaches knows that being friendly with Dalton always ends up in complete disaster, but he does have an interesting proposal for her--a wedding proposal. He says a fake wedding will save his career, and he needs her.

As much as she'd love to run into the arms of the incredibly hot, deliciously sexy actor, she's also afraid. He keeps hinting that he loves her, but he won't say the words.

Even if he did profess his love, can you ever really trust an actor?



Rate & take





Heat Index 3 ☼☼☼


This book closes the Peaches Monroe trilogy and all was well. I defy anyone to try and maintain a bad mood while reading this book. I think it is impossible with all the crazy, bawdy, nonsensical things that come out of Peaches mouth and thoughts, and believe me I did my best. The only thing that took away from the story was editing, or lack of it....I feel like the author or publisher wanted a book of a certain length and a lot of this story was filler for that purpose. Still all in all enjoyable fun.

We're moving...but where to?

 
 
The arrangement 12 by H.M. Ward

There is so much blood that I can't think. The night goes from bliss to chaos in a matter of moments.As the truth begins to unravel, it's clear that I can't trust anyone, except Sean Ferro. The same man that threatens to destroy me could also be my salvation--and I could be his. 


Rate & take





Heat Index 3 ☼☼☼

So, here I am....12 installments in and still just as ready to plunk my money down for more, as I was after reading installment one. I am mystified as to how H.M. keeps it all going....but I will say she is very talented with the cliff hangers. The past shorts (these are all novella length) I'd given 4 skulls to - this got one less due to what I thought was a little less action. Not to say it was devoid of action, just less than I'd hoped for. Could it be that no matter how great the story is that I am looking for closure, or at least the light at the end of the tunnel? Maybe. I think I am just greedy to finally have the whole picture.

All about Jack

Forever, Jack by Natasha Boyd


Keri Ann Butler's life changed on the night she met movie star, Jack Eversea. She thought she knew a Jack that was very different to the man adored by fans the world over. In the wake of his betrayal and abandonment, Keri Ann has had to pick up and move forward with the life she was supposed to live and has put off far too long.

Suddenly Jack is back, and his explanations for why he left seem more and more plausible, and his declarations more seductive. But being Jack's latest tabloid accessory isn't on Keri Ann's career agenda, no matter how much she is attracted to him. And how can she can ever trust him again?

Jack knows he let the only 'real' thing that ever happened to him slip through his fingers. And his hands have been tied to try and stop it. Until Now.

Jack is now fighting to save his relationship with Keri Ann, even as his crazy life threatens to tear them apart. Again. The question is, can he convince her she can have it all? And have him? Forever?



Rate & take





Heat Index  3 ☼☼☼


I was eagerly awaiting the closure this book was going to bring by finishing the story started in Eversea. I still have the same crush on the main character, Jack, that began in the first book. The depth he was written with was refreshing. The main female lead I found the same way I find many female characters....like a good shaking or slap could cure the incessant self doubts and indecision. Yes, I get that we all have them but it seems some book characters can raise it to a high art and would give any shrink more than a pause about their career choice, not that these women ever do contact a professional for help. But I digress, I did think this story ended gracefully and gave me exactly what I want from it. Another plus, the cover is something lovely to look at instead of the foot of snow that fell all around me during the night.

Loving Destiny

Taunting Destiny  by Amelia Hutchins


I thought things were bad and weird before – hold on – it’s getting worse.

Adam and I are both going through identity crises of epic proportions as we Transition from who we were, and discover who we were meant to be. More Fae are dying, and I feel as if time is running out for us to find all of those responsible and put an end to the killings.

The people I thought I could trust have betrayed me and the one person I should absolutely not trust; is taking me deeper and deeper into his world.

Ryder’s secrets are dangerous and devastating.

With each touch and word, he pulls my heart closer to himself and at the same time he is trying to keep me at arm’s length. The dance he and I have begun, is getting more complicated as our worlds are being shaken from all sides, and the visions of the future are frightening, and nothing like I had ever pictured for myself or those I care for.

This time, destiny is taunting me.

I had always thought that I controlled my destiny. Now, my rights are being taken from me by powerful people and leaving me with alternatives that range between bad and awful.

This time, the choices I have to make can decide the fate of both worlds.

Everything is unraveling, and nothing will ever be the same again.



My rate & take





Heat Index  3 ☼☼☼


Seems like I have been waiting a very long time for this second book in the Fae Chronicles series, but it was actually just six months ago that I read and review the first book in the series.

This follow up did not disappoint! It had me from the beginning and just kept right on going until the last page ended and my temper tantrum began. Once again I was put on hold from the continuation of another great story. From the information available on Good Reads this author will have two more books coming out for the series. It's tough being me.  :-)

A Metaphysical Precision Collision*

I just love that line* from the 80's movie, St. Elmo's Fire. Although my situation is not nearly as dire as the subject line may suggest, I do have a collision of sorts.

I recently went back to work (after having off four luscious months to read) so naturally my reading time has been cut back, and just at the time of year when the holidays are upon me too. No matter how much I vow to make the holidays simpler and less time consuming each year, it somehow never pans out. And the third piece of my collision is a cold that has been an invader in my body for the last 10 days and shows no signs of vacating soon. So not conducive for reading!

So while I really want to go on providing three books reviews each week, it is not going to happen, at least for a while. I will miss those halcyon days of having several weeks worth of reviews in the queue ready to be published on their assigned day, but I won't say it will never happen again. In the meantime I'll still publish each time I have a new book review and before I end this post I would like to do something I did last year, and that is in honor of the holidays to suggest some food themed or titled books. Happy Reading to you!! 





Flavia de Luce 11 is an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison. In the summer of 1950, a series of inexplicable events strikes her home, Buckshaw, a decaying English mansion. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath.

For Flavia, both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn't. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.

To Flavia the investigation is the stuff of science: full of possibilities, contradictions, and connections. Soon her father, a man raising his three daughters alone, is jailed for murder. He tells Flavia an astounding story of a schoolboy friendship turned ugly, a stolen priceless object, and a Latin teacher who flung himself to his death from the school tower thirty years before. Flavia ties tie two distant deaths together, examines new suspects, and follows the search to the King of England himself.



In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want--husband, country home, successful career--but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. This wise and rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and of what she found in their place. Following a divorce and a crushing depression, Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence.












In 2003, Kathleen Flinn, a thirty-six-year-old American living and working in London, returned from vacation to find that her corporate job had been eliminated. Ignoring her mother’s advice that she get another job immediately or “never get hired anywhere ever again,” Flinn instead cleared out her savings and moved to Paris to pursue a dream-a diploma from the famed Le Cordon Bleu.

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry is the touching and remarkably funny account of Flinn’s transformation as she moves through the school’s intense program and falls deeply in love along the way. Flinn interweaves more than two dozen recipes with a unique look inside Le Cordon Bleu amid battles with demanding chefs, competitive classmates, and her “wretchedly inadequate” French. Flinn offers a vibrant portrait of Paris, one in which the sights and sounds of the city’s street markets and purveyors come alive in rich detail.

The ultimate wish fulfillment book, her story is a true testament to pursuing a dream. Fans of Julie & Julia, My Life in France, and Eat, Pray, Love will be amused, inspired, and richly rewarded by this seductive tale of romance, Paris, and French food.


“ I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.


Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico became a best-selling phenomenon with its winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit.

The number one bestseller in Mexico and America for almost two years, and subsequently a bestseller around the world, "Like Water For Chocolate" is a romantic, poignant tale, touched with moments of magic, graphic earthiness, bittersweet wit - and recipes.

A sumptuous feast of a novel, it relates the bizarre history of the all-female De La Garza family. Tita, the youngest daughter of the house, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by Mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with Pedro, and he is seduced by the magical food she cooks. In desperation, Pedro marries her sister Rosaura so that he can stay close to her. For the next twenty-two years, Tita and Pedro are forced to circle each other in unconsummated passion. Only a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate finally reunite them against all the odds.



A dear friend suggested this one for my assortment:



When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Reynaud denounces her as a serious danger to his flock - especially as it is the beginning of Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. War is declared as the priest denounces the newcomer's wares as the ultimate sin.

Suddenly Vianne's shop-cum-café means that there is somewhere for secrets to be whispered, grievances to be aired, dreams to be tested. But Vianne's plans for an Easter Chocolate Festival divide the whole community in a conflict that escalates into a 'Church not Chocolate' battle. As mouths water in anticipation, can the solemnity of the Church compare with the pagan passion of a chocolate éclair?

For the first time here is a novel in which chocolate enjoys its true importance. Rich, clever and mischievous, Chocolat is a literary feast for all senses.




And now my shameless promotion...


While this book does not have food either in the title or as a theme (it does talk about food at points) I still think it is a great book and now that the winter is nearly upon those of us in the Northern Hemisphere and because I think of this as an ideal time to dive into a substantial read, I give you;


The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Side Note: This first book in the series is currently being filmed to air on the Starz cable network in serial form in 2014.

A bit less enthusiasm

Scandalous 2 by H.M. Ward


Abby never thought she’d find her soul mate, but she has and it's changed her life forever. Jack is everything she needs and more. There’s a connection between the two of them that transcends logic and rational thought. It’s like they were made for each other. Nothing can keep them apart.

After the honeymoon ends, Jack has the most important show of his career. The centerpiece is the scandal painting of Abby. It’s Jack’s defining piece, the start of a new era. But when Jack and Abby return home, something isn’t right. Jack becomes distant as his deepest fears manifest before his eyes.

Jack has been verbally attacked for his art in the past. It’s no secret; but what Abby doesn't realize is that a hate group has also targeted him. They hold Jack personally responsible for the moral decay in society. Not only is this corruption seen in Jack’s art, but also in his life and love. Seducing Abby made Jack a prime target.

It isn’t enough to ruin Jack’s career—these activists want to end his life.

Everything hinges on Abby and she’ll do anything to protect the man she loves.



Rate & take





Heat Index  1 ☼


This second book brought the story home nicely but with a bit less spark than the first book (see my previous review). I still enjoyed the main characters and hearing about the art world and the creative process.

H.M. does it again

Scandalous by H.M. Ward


One kiss could have changed Abby's life, but when it didn't happen, she ran. Jack was everything to her and when he didn't respond, Abby couldn't bear it. Everything about that night--leaning in close to his face, feeling the night breeze teasing her hair, the way his scent filled her head--was burned vividly into her mind, including the moment when Jack pulled away. There was no kiss. Abby was wrong. She was wrong about him, wrong about them.

Maybe she didn't have to go to college two thousand miles away, but she did. She had to forget about him. Abby threw herself off the grid, disappearing completely from the life she knew. After completing her undergraduate degree, she enrolled in seminary. All contact with her old life was severed and she never looked back, until she was forced to.

When Abby puts idealism into practice, her congregation throws her out. If she can survive a year on her own, they'll take her back, and continue to pay off her student loans--but if she fails, Abby is on her own with enough debt to fund a small town. Seminary wasn't cheap. With no place left to go, Abby returns to New York and her best friend takes her in.

Desperate to make it on her own and prove she was right, Abby follows a job lead to an art studio on Long Island. It isn't until she hears Jack's voice that she freezes. The hairs on the back of her neck prickle as she turns to see Jack, ten years later, looking even more tempting than before.

Fate is cruel. Abby left this life behind, but she's thrown back into it, head first. It's like someone hit rewind on her life and its ten years earlier. She's the cotton-mouthed girl that she always was around Jack, and now her future relies on the man who rejected her.


Rate & take





Heat Index  3 ☼☼☼


It's something in the way H.M. writes that just pulls you right into the story like you are there with the characters, hearing their thoughts watching how they relate to their world.
I just never want the story to end....and thankfully I got a boost there as book two in this series is already out. Happy am I to go off and read now.   :-D

My very first

Dark Witch by Nora Roberts


With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.

Ireland.

County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.

Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.

When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horsemen, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.

Iona realizes that here she can make a home for herself—and live her life as she wants, even if that means falling head over heels for Boyle. But nothing is as it seems. An ancient evil has wound its way around Iona’s family tree and must be defeated. Family and friends will fight with each other and for each other to keep the promise of hope—and love—alive…



Rate & take





Heat Index  1☼


My very first Nora Roberts read...I know she has written hundreds of books and yet I had never even read one. I actually made the decision to take in one of her books a few months ago but waited until this particular title was published as I was drawn to the subject matter. This title starts The Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy, and I am happy to report that while I know there is plenty of story left, the book did not leave me in a desperate cliff hanging moment, just the sweet promise of more to come. I very much enjoyed my first Nora experience and will be sure to tune back in once book two comes out.

Rocking on

Rock the Beat by Michelle A. Valentine


Twenty-year-old Holly Pearson never dreamed that while working at her father’s motocross track she’d run into the walking, talking definition of trouble in a sexy, tattooed package—Trip Douglas, the man sent to evaluate the track for a possible investment opportunity. Holly makes no attempt to hide the fact she despises Trip, but she learns to be civil toward him when he offers to help her land the man of her dreams.

Trip needs a break from the crazy rock-and-roll lifestyle he’s been living for the past few years. With his Black Falcon band mates settling down with marriage and babies, Trip peruses an investment opportunity in motocross, something he’s always been passionate about. Hiding his celebrity status, Trip infiltrates the new business posing as a dirt bike rider training for the X-Games. The only obstacle is the owner’s daughter, Holly. She’s a real ball bustin' Ice Queen, and she’ll do whatever it takes to make the deal fall through. Trip soon discovers that winning over his new enemy is the key to gaining a partnership in Mountain Time Speed Track.

Knowing he’s the expert on getting laid, Trip ropes Holly into becoming his ally by helping her score a date with the man she’s crushing on. The problem is, the more time Trip and Holly spend together, the more they uncover the undeniable attraction between them. Soon they both realize that even the best laid plans go to hell when you find you’re falling in love with the enemy.



Rate & take





Heat Index 3 ☼☼☼

I have been involved with this the Black Falcon series for a while. I lovingly wait for each new story to come out, each band member gets their own book. This book was delayed for a while after the original pub date was announced, the author said she wanted to make sure it was the best that it could be...or something along those lines, and I appreciate the dedication. I would have even been even more appreciative if I thought that this book was equal in greatness to the last several, however I found it missing some ingredient that ran fully through those other reads. Not to say I did not enjoy this addition but it just left me feeling like the characters were not as fully explored as they could have been, that some spark was missing.

But, no matter what I will still be there for the next in series.

Nicely closed

Panic by J.A. Huss


Rook is chasing her dream—film school and a chance at a life beyond the one she ran from six months ago. But before she can become the girl she wants to be, she must deal with the girl she left behind.

Ronin is also chasing his dream—a family of his own and a life away from erotic modeling. And he too, has a past he’s trying to forget. A past that makes Rook question everything about their life together.

Lies, secrets, and shocking truths will rock the foundation Rook and Ronin have built. Can they put the past behind them and move forward together? Or is this just another too good to be true relationship that will crash and burn in the end?



Rate & take






Heat Index  3 ☼☼☼


Intrigue, drama, hotness, confessions, reveals, this book had it all and the writing was tight. I could not have written a better ending and I love that the author hinted that one of the characters might just get their own spin off book! I'll be there on publishing day for sure.

               My review of book 1         My review of book 2
                     

Love to Arrange

The Arrangement 11 by H.M. Ward


Sean Ferro is my addiction. I can’t tell him no, no matter what he asks for, and I know there are so many dark questions behind those blue eyes, so many things he wants me to do with him.

When I watch him go down on one knee, with his sexy body covered in sand, and hold up a glittering ring, I can barely stand. It looks like he’s going to propose, and I know exactly what I’m going to say.




Rate & take





Heat Index  3 ☼☼☼


At first it didn't feel like a lot was happening, but than wham! It all started, and all too soon it was all over. Of course I know we will have another installment in a few weeks but damn, this author does know how to spin a tale (and me) to maximum effect.

All about him...A three-for one

Knowing his Secret by K.C. Falls



He looked like the kind of man even my mother would call smokin' hot. Eventually, she did.

He felt like the kind of man who didn't just break the rules, but made new ones. He led and it was follow or get out of the way.

Why did a billionaire with a voice like liquid silk and a face like a bad angel take a second look at a girl in no-name jeans, with a fifteen-dollar haircut and a beat up car she calls her "Eep" because the 'J' fell off long ago?

I didn't want to know why and when I thought I knew I didn't want to admit it. By the time I found his secret, it was already too late. His passion had me hooked like a drug. It didn't hurt that he pulled the people I love the most out of harm's way. A girl can get used to a knight in shining armor even when the armor has some very large dents in it.

This 33,000 word novella is part of a series, although this book can be enjoyed as stand alone work.



Keeping his Promise by K.C. Falls



Just carrying a million dollars around is exhausting. Paying my mother's ransom was a relief but I had too much time to think about Tristan on that ferry ride. He was more than I had dared hope for and less than I deserved.

I underestimated his power and didn't give him nearly enough credit for determination. He had me on his jet again, flying high and wanting him. Consequences be damned.

Who could be prepared for what he had to say? I wasn't going to hold him to the promise he intended to keep. When he opened the heavy door to his heart we both knew it would change what we had. Trouble is, I still didn't have a word for what it is we had.

Our bodies tended to do all the talking. Sometimes, it seemed to me there wasn't much left to say.



Taking his Risk by K.C. Falls

(I could not get image to slim down in size...but you get the idea from the first two covers)


I was hurtling across the ocean, a mile high, destination unknown. I'd brought a passport and nothing else.

He seemed determined to make everything in my life brand new. He revealed me, peeling back layer after layer until all that was left was my raw intimate core. Yet, I hardly knew him.

Crazy is a pretty good word for the kind of uncertainty that comes with a man like Tristan King. I never knew what the day would bring, but I began to expect surprises. That was the biggest problem. Managing my expectations with a man who'd told me I couldn't have any.

For a regular girl, falling for a man like him was taking a very big chance. Was it really possible to love one day at a time?


Over all rate & take


     


Heat Index 3 ☼☼☼


These three are the total series were just a few hours each to read.

The plot moved along nicely, never got boring, and I liked that the main characters met in a community theater. I would consider these books a good beach read.

On the fence

Significance by Shelly Crane


Maggie is a seventeen year old girl who's had a bad year. She was smart and on track, but then her mom left, her dad is depressed, she's graduating - barely - and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has.
Then she saves the life of Caleb and instantly knows there's something about him that's intriguing. But things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally.
They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she's ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive.
Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb's enemies know he's imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him.

Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one another?


Rate & take






This is book one in a four book series of the same name and all books have been published.

The story itself had a very original feel and I very much enjoyed the read. My only complaint was at every event in the story the characters talked about it (or internal monologues took place) seemingly forever before the next bit of action happened. I am sure the author wrote it this way for the audience she expected, and not middle-aged me. Originally I was going to end my reading of the series with the ending of book one but I have found the story is sticking with me, so at some point in the future I will continue on.

Fluff.....Another

My Now & Forever by H.J. Bellus


Whose parents abandon them in a trashy trailer when they are five years old? Oh Yeah! Mine do!

Hey Hoochies! I'm Milly, and I am tired of taking kicks to the gut. A broken family, an asshole husband and the loss of loved ones have left me crying Uncle, and declaring a serious case of the Fuck-Its!

I had my heart broken, stomped on and shattered before I ever started on my journey to find my little piece of happiness. With a bucket list, a '66 Ford and wild dreams, I set out on an adventure that changed my life forever. Follow me on my journey that resurrected my inner badass.

I found my soul sista from another mista, and opened my dream shop along the way. Just when I gave up on finding true love, a pirate and a princess swept me off my ever lovin' feet and filled my world with sprinkles, mac n’ cheese and the courage to live again. They forced my fragile heart to trust and love without fear.

Truth is, nobody’s past stays hidden forever. It’s an invisible monster waiting to attack and destroy. It has the capability to ruin everything you’ve worked to set right. All it takes is one final blow to the gut to end everything.


Rate & take





Heat Index   1 ☼


I found this to be a cute with some funny lines, steamy goodness, and not a lot of substance otherwise....however that did not stop me from enjoying the overall read. I could ponder what this says about me but I choose not too, instead I'll get busy picking another entertainingly smutty read!

Lighting

Promise Me Light by Paige Weaver


At one time my life was simple. Easy. But that was before the war. Now I was no longer an average college student. I was a survivor. A woman living in a ravaged world. My future was not bright and my life was far from perfect. The war had taken so much from me... but it wasn't finished yet. It wanted more. It wanted my heart. My soul. The one person I couldn't live without. It wanted Ryder Delaney. My best friend. The bad boy. The one person who could fight like no other and love me like no one else. He was the father of my baby. I watched him walk away one hot summer day and I prayed he would return. I needed him like I needed air to breathe and water to drink. Without him I was lost. A light without her darkness. Until he returns, I'll wait for him. And I believe he will return because love is powerful... And so is the light calling him home.



Rate & take





Heat Index   1 ☼


I finished this book a few hours ago and can't stop thinking about the way it made me feel. There were no earth shaking plot twists, but author did a great job of painting the array of all of the emotions that happen between loss and longing. I was totally sucked in and that surprised me because I normally do not go in for the post apocalypse type stories.

This book ends the story that was started in Promise Me Darkness (see last post for review) and I think, except for wishing there was a bit more development of the fringe characters, the story was well rounded.

Romancing the strange

Promise Me Darkness by Paige Weaver


For me, life was simple. I went to school and studied. I spent time with my friends and stayed out of trouble. I didn't drink or swear and I only dated gentlemen. I was the typical good girl with a bright future. My world seemed perfect.

But that was about to change.

Ryder Delaney was the one imperfection in my life. He was the bad boy, the black sheep, the one your mother always warned you about. He had only one hard-and-fast rule - Don't fall in love.

But some rules were meant to be broken.

We were best friends, inseparable since childhood despite our differences. I knew the real man hiding behind the tattoos and bad attitude. He knew all my secrets and dreams. But he didn't know there was one thing I wanted and couldn't have...him.

But sometimes Fate has a way of intervening. Soon our world collapsed. War erupted. Darkness prevailed. Alone and on the run, our only goal was to survive and to ignore the feelings we had for each other. But love is powerful...

and so is the darkness.




Rate & take







Heat Index    1  ☼


I am still shaking my head at this one...not at all what I expected. But that is not to say that I didn't enjoy it, I did, well enough to buy book two and start on it as soon as I hit 'publish' on this entry. Book two is the conclusion to the series so at least I won't be plagued with my need to know.

The thing that caught me most off guard by this title was not that love could bloom in the end-of-the-world type times, but more that the author really made it work. The only negative I can say is that I found at several points in the book I would have loved to slap some sense in the main female character for making some colossally stupid decisions, but I guess that all adds to the tension.

I am off to read!

Just enough to get my fix

The Arrangement 10 by H.M. Ward


When Avery realizes that her latest client wasn't Sean she doesn't know what to do. This person has invaded her life on a personal level and to make matters worse she doesn't even know who he is. The only good thing that came from it has been seeing Sean again, but now that he's in front of her, she doesn't want to let him go. However, it's time for Avery to stop pretending and move on with her life, and she knows that Sean Ferro will not be part of it.




Rate & take






I think H.M. Ward is a  big tease, there I said it. This latest novella in the series was sweet torture. I loved every word...until my e-reader said the story was 84% finished and I turned the digital page and it basically said 'tune in next time'. ARRGH!!! The author gave me just enough to keep my addiction going but not enough for the greedy little reader in me to be fully satisfied. But as is my predictable nature I'll be up front and center for the release of The Arrangement 11...whenever she can fit the time in to have it published, that is.

Back pedaling

Scorched Treachery by Rebecca Ethington



While Joclyn is trapped in the tormenting hell of Cail’s mind, the battle around her only continues to grow and spread.
*
Edmund has infiltrated the underground hallways of Prague, guiding the massacre that would end the lives of the last of the great magical race. In her attempts to stop him, Wynifred has been captured and her magic restrained. Chained up in the ancient dungeons of Prague, her fate is left in the hands of her father, who has tried to kill her before.
With Ryland’s screams and Sain’s fragmented sights as her only company, Wyn must rely on something that has been hidden deep inside of her for centuries to help them break free.
*
Ilyan’s whole life has been building up to one purpose. Protect the Silnỳ. He knows what he must do, and he has no doubt in his ability to do so. But when his father’s magic removes Joclyn’s mind from her body, he is left protecting the shell of the one person he loves. Desperate to find a way to break her free of her prison, he makes a choice. And that one choice changes everything. Now, Ilyan finds himself bound to Joclyn in a way that he never knew to be possible. They say that blood is thicker than water, but Black Water burns, and Ilyan’s heart may not be strong enough to keep it pumping through his veins and give the girl he loves back into his brother’s care.
Even if he can, it may not be safe to do so.



Rate & take






This one was a tough read in a way because 80% of it was written about a time period that was covered in book two, (see this post) only this was from the perspective of others in the story. I'm not saying it wasn't good writing, or that I didn't find the new bits learned helpful, but I was really hoping to get further along in the tale before the inevitable end of this book, which as predicted came way too soon.

From the author notes at the end of the story, book 4 will be out in December 2013 and book 5 in January 2014.
 

Saved for later/Now was later

The Fault is in Our Stars by John Green



Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.







Rate & take






I had been saving this offering until the time was just right, my stars aligned, and for it not to be summer. That time had arrived so I settled in and fell in love with the story, the characters, and the writing, not even minding the tears I shed for the singular beauty found in the acceptance of the impossible harshness of life. Yes, it was sometimes painful but a good kind of pain that reminds you to be more aware in your own life while you have the ability to. I'm glad I waited to read this and I'm glad I didn't wait any longer.

If you had asked me....

Simple Perfection by Abbi Glines


Woods had his perfect life mapped out for him. Rise up the ranks of the family business. Marry the rich girl of his parents’ dreams. Pretend that wealth and privilege was all he’d ever wanted. Then a girl named Della breezed into town, a beautifully imperfect stranger who captured his heart and opened his eyes to a new kind of future. Woods is ready and willing to sacrifice everything for her when the sudden death of his father leaves him with his mother to care for and a business to manage.

Della is determined to be strong for Woods, even as she’s quietly falling to pieces. No matter how far from home she’s run, the ghosts of her past have never stopped haunting her. Struggling to hide her true feelings from Woods, Della fears she can’t be his rock without dragging him down into the darkness with her. But is she strong enough to let go of the last thing holding her together?



Rate & take






Heat Index   1  ☼


If someone would have asked me (anytime during my reading of the first two-thirds of this book) what I thought my rating was going to be, I would have said it was a solid three. But it's what happened late in the game that really changed it all for me....it was one of those 'I-did-not-see-that-one-coming' moments and really brought the story to a new level and I knew then it sure was worth the rating of four.

I have read several of Abbi Glines books and I've never been disappointed by the way she crafts a story and weaves in the emotional tones that often times just tug the heck out of my girlie side. And she is great for a plot twist or two as well. I hope she keeps writing for a very long time to come!!!

Outlander/Starz/Diana/Ron/ & How I spent my Saturday

I don't talk about this enough on this blog, but I am changing that now.

Confession; I am a HUGE fan of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. And all thanks to Starz, fans will be getting yet another fix of this phenomenal tale when the Outlander series premiers in March 2014, on the cable network. Starz also honored a small group of fans at an event in New York City on Saturday October 12.

Being the rabid fan that I am I have 'Liked' as many pages as I can find on Facebook that have anything to do with the Outlander Universe, one of which is the Outlander/Starz page that posted this on October 9th,

"Starz will be hosting a private Outlander event, not open to the public, with Diana Gabaldon and Ronald D. Moore this Saturday, October 12th, at 1:00pm in Manhattan!
Attendees will get a first-hand look behind the scenes of the upcoming series and participate in a live Q&A, followed by an intimate lunch.
Email for a chance to attend! Limited admittance, no guarantees. First come, first seated.

I sent my email that day thinking that was the last I would hear about it. Friday night at 11 p.m. I found this had been sent to me the hour before;

So I spent the next hour freaking out and wondering if I should wake up my sick hubby (plagued with a cold) and talk about how I was going to get sleep, get ready, and travel 160 miles all in about 12 hours. Luckily hubby woke up on his own and at the end of our discussion I decided not to go because there was no guaranteed entry. Even declaring that, I still set my alarm and made a list of what I would need to take. When the alarm did go off I felt comfy and warm and was planning on going back to sleep when suddenly I was wide awake and firmly decided on going, even if I didn't get in. Just over an hour later I was driving the 96 miles that would lead me to a train station and a commuter train that would take me the rest of the way.

This would be a good time for me to mention I have only been to the city three other times and have never traveled solo anywhere. None of that mattered to me because it was Diana!!!!

I arrived at the venue with just over an hour to spare before the doors were to open...only to find a line (of course there was - even though the invitation said not to form a line, what did they expect us to do??) of about 60 people. The line grew and grew and I had no idea how many people would be let in. Eventually Starz brought out a camera crew and were interviewing people in line (I ducked behind the person in front of me) and then came a black Town car that was redirect but came back a few minutes later and about 30 feet from my place in line out stepped Herself, Diana Gabaldon, and the executive producer of the show, Ron Moore. Just before this we were each verified to be on the list by a few individuals that came around with I-Pad's (Yay, I was on the list!!!), some folks brought friends that did not have emailed invites, they were told to go to the back of the line and they would see if they had enough room when all were seated. I think all told there was about 150-200 of us that did get in. There was no way that entire line made it in.


This is a photo Starz posted. I am not visible but was around the second black doorway.




As always, Diana looked amazing and Ron looked great in his kilt.

Shortly after their entry I was lead with a group of 16 people to an unremarkable door further down the building. Once we entered it looked like we were in a wood paneled hallway....it was actually an elevator that inched us up to the top floor. The elevator was dim, but the hallway and the room we were seated in was really dim, so I did not take pictures of the décor, which I was told was designed to look like a prohibition era speak easy. There was a wooden bar at one end and lots of curved booths along the periphery. It had a very cool vibe to it.

I was able to take a photo of the small stage since it was well lit. On the stage were two captains chairs that were flanked by two large screen televisions.

Partially empty stage

 

Now a full stage

 

 

 

We were treated to a brief clip that showing the prep work that was taking place in Scotland as that very moment, such as, sword fighting practice, Gaelic and horse riding lessons. At the very end was a nice message from the two leading stars of the series, extending their apologies for not being with us but hoping we understood they needed to be in bonny Scotland just then.

 

Just after this Ron spoke a bit about the process that will take place over the next several months (Starz is contracted to produce 16 shows that will encompass the first book in the series...hopefully it will be such a success that the all the books in the series will also be filmed). I know Diana thought that Ron was a good choice to bring her epic work to the small screen but I knew very little about him. In listening to him talk about being true to the story and his passion for the project (he even sent people to a castle ruin in Scotland to make a mold of the outer wall so it could be reproduced on set buildings) and the fact that he did not want to disappoint any of the fans, or his wife, who is also a long time fan, made me think he was the right choice as well.

 

At this point there was a Q & A session, I had no questions but enjoyed listening to those of others. I didn't learn anything new from the session (thanks to my stalking any and all information from Diana and the shows production) but rather got a bit more depth into some of the production intricacies. About 30 minutes in we were told the session would have to end as lunch was ready for us, we were asked to follow a piper up the stairs to the rooftop restaurant where a buffet lunch was waiting.

 

 

 

The red headed piper and our lunch venue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drinks were generously flowing, red wine, white wine, beer, or bottled water that were labeled on one side Outlander and the other, Starz. (Also notice the ceiling banner flags were also Starz/Outlander). Just behind the lovely lady at the buffet Diana and Ron had their lunch with some of the folks from Starz. I sat just two tables away. When lunch was over Diana and Ron began going from table to table but that did not last long as people further away came up and formed a line to talk to them, get autographs, and photos. I stayed out of the well ordered melee as I had met Diana previously had done all the above. I just enjoyed watching others have their moments.

 

 

Ron and Diana in action

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are photo's of conceptual art boards that Starz had made

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As things began to wind down I asked one of the Starz folks if there would be more, or if it ended after the autographs. I was told yes it would end after the autographs, but that they had t-shirts and books for us on the way out. Somehow I managed to thank her while masking my total shock, after such a well thought out afternoon they had yet more for us, it was almost too much to comprehend!! Below is the loot.

 

 

 

 

The book is autographed by both Diana and Ron

 

 

 

And here is the back of the shirt (OH YES!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

So in closing I can say I am one lucky girl to have lived this unexpected dream day and that I'm glad I was brave enough to take the chance rather than clinging to home and my warm bed.