On My Wishlist (76)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where we list all the books we desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that you can join in with too - a linky is always at the ready for you to link your own 'On My Wishlist' post. If you want to know more click here.

The Heart of A Killer by Jaci Burton:
Before the Special Forces hero has even unpacked his bags from twelve years of active duty, he's embroiled in murder—corpses bearing the brutal trademark he's seen only once before—on the worst night of his life.

The last time Detective Anna Pallino saw Dante Renaldi, they were in love. Now, he's part of the connection to a string of fresh homicides and a horrible assault Anna only survived thanks to him.

More than anything, Anna wants to trust Dante. But as the bodies and the coincidences stack up, Anna will have to decide, and fast: Is the man she owes her life to the very same one who wants her dead?




Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz:
What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?

Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.



Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan:
Jenny has a secret. Her touch spreads a supernatural plague.

She devotes her life to avoiding contact with people, until her senior year of high school, when she meets the one boy she can touch, and she falls in love.

But there's a problem--he's under the spell of his devious girlfriend Ashleigh, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all.

Now Jenny must learn to use the deadly "Jenny pox" she's fought her entire life to hide, or be destroyed by Ashleigh's ruthless plans.

Love That Line (21)

Love That Line is hosted by Jessica Rabbit's Corner, it's a little thing where we post a favourite quote or two from a book we have enjoyed.

Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong

And then it got cold--"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!" cold.



"Your frustrated. As the queen of fretting, I'm certainly not going to complain."



"At that age, I suppose hearing 'you're a werewolf' is much cooler than 'you're having a mental breakdown,'" I said.

Wyoming Tough by Diana Palmer

Wyoming Tough:
A cowboy through and through, ranch owner Mallory Kirk knows what it means to put in a full day's work. But does his new cowgirl? He has his doubts that Morie Brannt will be able to pull her own weight, even if the petite young woman does seem to have a lot of spirit.

As they spar over events at the ranch and a past that threatens their hopes for the future, sparks begin to fly, and Mallory can't help but notice Morie in a new light. But is this tough Wyoming man ready to love?

This book reminded me why I love to read stories by Diana Palmer. Sure the characters are a little gullible and do some pretty inane things, but this brought me back to her earlier works and why I enjoy them so much. Diana writes simple stories, with simple characters, and that can sometimes be a nice break from the more complicated ones out there. With Diana, you usually know what to expect the minute you crack open that book, and that is why I keep coming back. I have to admit that Morie is a stronger female lead than I have seen from Diana in a while, she wouldn't take flack from anyone and stood her ground. Mallory was her typical alpha male who is blind when it comes to women, letting past hurts influence his future. There wasn't much mystery involved with this story, but the romance and tension definitely filled the pages and kept me reading.

Theme Thursday (37)

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event hosted by Reading Between Pages that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

• A theme will be posted each week (on Thursdays)
• Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
• Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
• It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
  Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week's theme is - MALE NAME (any male characters name)

In fact Niko had said, and pretty damn frequently, that I had more human qualities than I had good sense.

Nightlife by Rob Thurman

Enthralled Anthology

Enthralled:
A journey may take hundreds of miles, or it may cover the distance between duty and desire.

Sixteen of today’s hottest writers of paranormal tales weave stories on a common theme of journeying. Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Melissa Marr return to the beloved worlds of their bestselling series, while others, like Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl, create new land-scapes and characters. But whether they’re writing about vampires, faeries, angels, or other magical beings, each author explores the strength and resilience of the human heart.

Suspenseful, funny, or romantic, the stories in Enthralled will leave you moved.

Edited by Kelly Armstrong and Melissa Marr, this was an incredible collection of short stories by so many amazing authors. I especially loved Kelley Armstrong's contribution: Facing Facts. Of course that could have to do with the fact that the featured characters are Chloe and Derek! I'm not the hugest fan of anthologies, because I find I'm just truly beginning to get into the story...and poof! it's over. What I do like about them is that I get to sample new authors that I might not have read before, and oft times come to enjoy their work so much that I therefore invest in other books by them. This collection of stories kept me interested from start to finish and I enjoyed the theme; whether it was an emotional journey or a physical one, these authors used their talent for writing impeccably.

My Book Boyfriend (42)

My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie of The Unread Reader, in which we swoon over boys in books!
(I--as in me, Amy--don't like to use commercial photos, I like to use the authors' descriptions and my imagination.)

John After
Book: Going too Far by Jennifer Echols
Series: N/A

He's a small town cop at the age of nineteen, tall with blond hair, and long blond eyelashes framing deep hazel eyes. Built with a body like Matt Damon and irresistible dimples when he smiles. His lips are sensitive and soft looking as he bites his lip gently, a habit of his. He has the sort of six-pack abs that you see all the time on TV but rarely in person. His sense of responsibility sometimes gets in the way of his ability to let go, until the right girl comes along.

Quotes:

"You dress like you're Japanese," he said. "The clueless Japanese who work at the car factory and wear those weird plastic sandals? Thanks." "No, the cute girls you see at the mall in Birmingham." He looked down at his forms, pen poised. But he didn't write anything. That blush crept up from his neck and across his cheeks. He had just realized he'd called me cute. "I mean, the Japanese girls," he said, still looking down. "You know how you dress. With your T-shirt and your jacket and your jeans and your shoes and your weird socks and your hairpins and your blue hair."

He touched my bottom lip with one finger. "Just say yes." I lost myself in his dark eyes. "Yes."

The Crossroads Tour: Book Giveaway

I have two books to giveaway as part of The Crossroads Tour! One will be from Angie Frazier and one will be from Joy Preble! The titles will be determined by the author as they get ready to ship them out to you!

So here we go...just answer two easy questions, the answers can be found on my blog throughout the tour!

Angie's Question: What object is blessed with the magic to bring someone back to life?

Joy's Question: Who can be compelled by the secret Russian Brotherhood to protect Anastasia Romanov?

Rules for entry:
- Giveaway ends Friday November 4, 2011 12AM EST.
- Open to Canadian and US addresses only.
- Fill out the form below (answers in the comment section will be deleted and will not count as an entry).
- There will be two winners, first to respond gets the author of their choice!

Sherrilyn Kenyon's The Guardian Trailer

Future Favorites (57)

Future Favorites is an awesome blog feature over at Electrifying Reviews. I post about a book that is yet-to-be-released and that I can't wait to read!

Body and Soul by Stacey Kade:

Release Date: May 29, 2012 by Hyperion

The Ghost

I’ve been trapped in the body of Lily “Ally” Turner for a month now. Talk about a fashion crisis on an epic scale. What worries me more, though, is sometimes I catch Will looking at me like he thinks I’m Lily...or that he wishes I were. Without the good looks of my former self, I don’t know who I am, or if who that is is good enough. I need out of this mess. Now.

Will and I have been looking for a solution, one that would separate me from Lily without killing her. But it’s not going well. Then, when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, we run into Misty, my former best friend and boyfriend-stealer extraordinaire, who claims she’s being haunted...by me. Seriously?

I’m determined to get to the bottom of who’s pretending to be the spirit of Alona Dare (while I’m pretending to be someone else) and then get the heck out of this body. Or die trying...

The Goth

I’ll admit it. It’s really weird to look at Alona but see Lily. I do know the difference, though, contrary to what Alona might be saying. And Alona is more than a pretty face to me, not that she would believe that.

Our one lead for some help in this messed up situation might be a page torn from the yellow pages-—the “Psychics” section-—I found in my dad’s stuff. One of the “fakes” seems a bit more real-—and odd-—than the others. Before I can investigate further, though, Alona is off and chasing a ghost that’s probably nothing more than a figment of Misty’s guilty imagination. Now Lily’s family is freaking out because she didn’t come home, my mom is ordering me to stay out of it, and something is definitely wrong with the person formerly known as Lily “Ally” Turner...

Month In Review: October

I just had to share our Halloween pictures, so enjoy!

Books I read and their "Dragon Hearts of Love" rating:
(For reviews, please go to "Books Read in 2011")

1. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick 4
Patch became more of a likeable character to me, I'm probably among the few that didn't really like him in the first book. I really love the mystery and the little bits and pieces Becca is revealing of the history behind the characters.

2. Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore 4
I loved the characters in this book, the magic seemed so natural and unforced, and the mystery kept my attention throughout the story.

3. All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin 5
This is the first dystopian I have read that didn't force never ending pages of world building down my throat. I loved the story. 'Nuff said.

4. Taken by Midnight by Lara Adrian 4
Again, as I have been saying all along, I love the story arc and how each book reveals just a little bit more.

5. A Man For All Seasons by Diana Palmer 2
The hero was just plain and simple too stupid for words. Definitely not a book by Diana that I would recommend to her fans.

6. Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick 5
What can I say. I am COMPLETELY in love with Patch.

7. Deeper Than Midnight by Lara Adrian 4
I loved seeing the softer side of Hunter, I can't wait to see what happens in the series next.

8. Defiance by Lili St. Crow 5
Graves...I need more Graves! I love this world, I love the characters and I'm going to be so sad to see the series end in the next book.

9. Keys to the Repository by Melissa de la Cruz 4
A great refresher for the Blue Bloods fans.

10. Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz 3
I'm liking the mixture of history and modern day worlds and Melissa's unique blending of fallen angels and vampires.

11. Genesis by Kristie Cook 4
I honestly felt more for these characters than I did for the ones in the original two books. There is so much information in this book, but the story is fast paced and never boring.

12. Marked by Elisabeth Naughton 4
An interesting and unique world, the Argonauts are more than a myth, I enjoyed the characters and I'm looking forward to more books in this series.

13. Spiritus by Dana Michelle Burnett 3
A short, semi-creepy story about lost love that is found again and new beginnings.

There were a lot of guests to visit this month because I was a member of The Crossroads Tour featuring 15 Young Adult authors, and Kristie Cook's Genesis Release Tour.

Here are the links:
The Crossroads Tour Day 1
The Crossroads Tour Day 2
The Crossroads Tour Day 3
The Crossroads Tour Day 4
The Crossroads Tour Day 5
The Crossroads Tour Day 6
The Crossroads Tour Day 7
The Crossroads Tour Day 8
Genesis Release Tour

Author Visits:

Nicole Peeler

Dana Michelle Burnett