Saturday, November 28, 2009

In My Mailbox (8)



Hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren!

For Review:
Comfort Living (A Back to Basics Guide to a More Balanced Lifestyle) by Christine Eisne
plus she sent me a wonderful little matching spiral bound journal tablet!

Bought:
Sucks to be Me by Kimberly Pauley
Covet by J.R. Ward
Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater

Good Reads Swap:
His Dark Materials (All 3 Books of the trilogy!) by Phillip Pullman
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

Contest Prize from Wonders and Marvels
Gilded Youth by Kate Cambor


 
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Friday, November 27, 2009

Review: Bite Me If You Can by Lynsay Sands


Bite Me If You Can by Lynsay Sands
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon
Rating: 5/5

Imagine walking home minding your own business when wham out of nowhere somebody jumps out and lays fangs into your flesh? That's what happens to Leigh on her walk home from work one early morning. The action takes off then as a struggle begins and she is whisked off to a rogue vampire's lair!

Along comes Lucian, rogue vampire hunter, who begrudginly gets stuck in the position of nursing Leigh thru becoming a vampire and keeping her safe from the vamp who turned her. Lucian is surprised he cant read this ladies thoughts which usually means you've met your mate only he isn't looking for a mate. In fact it's been so long since he has even kissed a woman, maybe centuries, that he has to purchase dating manuels trying to figure it all out again.

I read this out of order because I just grabbed it up without checking but I was able to follow along quite well and found it to be a funny read at times and I loved watching the relationship build between Leigh and Lucian even though they both fought it tooth and nail.

This was my first Lynsay Sands book and now I am ready to read the rest of the Argeneau books.
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Review: Back to the Bedroom by Janet Evanovich


Back to the Bedroom by Janet Evanovich
Genre: Chick Lit
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: HarperLargePrint
Rating: 3.5 / 5
 
If your looking for Plum put this book down. You wont find her between these sheets of romance or cello music.

Kate is a riches to rags sort of gal and Dave is a rags to riches sloucher. She works all the time tutoring and playing cello. He sits home all day eating pizza and reading comics. They're neighbors and well...they dont get along until one day when Kate has an object fall from a plane thru her roof. Then a series of events get started that heats things up.

I am a huge fan of Janet Evanovich and I really liked Back to the Bedroom. While I agree it doesn't come close to her Stephanie Plum novels it is still a great soft, funny, cushy kind of read. It's more of a quirky romance book than a mystery.

I recommend this book to folks who want a light and quick read.
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Friday 56 (2)



Rules:


* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.

* Turn to page 56.

* Find the fifth sentence.


* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of http://storytimewithtonya.blogspot.com/

*Post a link along with your post back to http://storytimewithtonya.blogspot.com/


"There were artists who'd been mortally insulted by Mellon's catnaps, but Kate was oblivious. Even if she'd known the critic was sleeping, she wouldn't have cared."

Page 56 - Sentences 5 and 6

Book: Back to the Bedroom by Janet Evanovich


 
 
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2010 Debut Author Challenge


I have decided to join the 2010 Debut Author Challenge. What is the 2010 Debut Author Challenge you ask?

The objective is to read a set number of YA (Young Adult) or MG (Middle Grade) novels from debut authors published this year. I will probably be reading these books anyways, so...sounds like fun huh?

The challenge will run from January 1, 2010- December 31, 2010. You can join at anytime! Visit

The Story Siren for more information. She will be our gracious hostess.

Here is my list so far...

02. Wereling by Steve Feasey

03. Anna and the Boy Masterpiece by Stephanie Perkins
04. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
05. Sea by Heidi King
06. Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore
07. All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab
08. Forget Her Nots by Amy Brecount White
09. Everlasting by Angie Frazier
10. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
11. Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey
12. Other by Karen Kincy
13. Scones and Sensibility  by Lindsay Eland
14. Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw
15. The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy
16. Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
17. Angel Star by Jennifer Murgia
18. The Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
19. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
20. Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
21. Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
22. Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omolou
23. Shadow Hills by Anastacia Hopcus
24. The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
25. The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea M. Campbell
26. The Witches Alphabet (IRON CODEX VOL. 1) by Caitlin Kittredge
27. The Karma Club by Jessica Brody
28. The Naughty List by Suzanne Young
29. The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride
30. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
31. Prophecy of Days by Christy Raedeke
32. Wolves, Boys and Other Things That Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler
33. The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade
34. Firespell by Chloe Neill
35. Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt
36. Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz
37. The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
38. The Mark by Jen Nadol
39. Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey


Hope to read loads more but this is a start!

**Authors and publishers-if your book is on the list, I would love to review it, set up an interview, or contest to help you promote your new releases!


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Challenge: Reading Thru The Seasons



Rules:

1. Four books, one for each season.

2. Title must have a season, not holiday, winter, fall, autumn, spring, summer

3. Jan 1 to Dec 31

4. Leave a link to your post about the challenge & I'll add you to the participant list.

Everything else is fairly flexible. Reviews, lists, even a blog is not necessary and books may be used for other challenges. It would be nice if you posted a short summary about the books you read so we can add to our TBR piles/wish lists.


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Giveaway: I Alex Cross Audio Book


Thanks to Anna and Hachette Books I have 3 copies to give away! Woohoo!

Entering is simple. You MUST be a follower and make a post below telling me your favorite Alex Cross Book and your email address.

Giveaway Ends December 13, 2009

Extra entries: You may do these in separate comments for more entries.

+1 Provide Link to an Alex Cross Review on your own blog (Limit 2)
+2 following via email
+1 for each place you post about this giveaway {Provide Link}
+3 for posting about giveaway on your sidebar {Provide Link}


 
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Review: The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox


The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 276 pages
Publisher: Two Harbors Press
Rating: 5/5

Kristina has only one friend in the whole world, Raymond her pet rat. Kids at school mostly teased her and made her feel bad. Her life changes when one day she gets the strangest gift, The Magic Warble, from her teacher and is cast into Bernovem, a land of dwarfs, fairies,and other talking animals who address her with importance as "The Chosen One".


She makes friends and meets Werrien, who turns out to be a prince, but whose family has been banished from their throne by an evil Queen Sentiz. Kristina must join forces with her new friends as they guide her to the spot she alone must place The Magic Warble so that all of Bernovem can return as it should be and so she can be able to return back home to her world.

I loved this fantasy tale. I related so well with poor Kristina feeling unpopular but then excited for her when she holds an entire kingdoms well being in the palm of hand literally.

Review copy provided by author.

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Review: Shakespeare Ashes- A Novel by Chris DeBrie



Shakespeare Ashes by Chris DeBrie
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 203 pages
Publisher: Infinity Publishing
My Rating: 4/5

The first thing that catches my eye about Shakespeare Ashes is there are no capitols! I thought that was so cool kinda like somebody writing in a diary.

Chris gives us a glimpse into the lives of four characters each with their own agenda and set of issues including racial and sexuality bias, finding love, pain and loss, and just learning to live. The tone and language of the story is raw using everyday talk and slang which enhanced the characters and ultimately made them real.

I enjoyed reading it and found it entertaining following along as each person struggled to basically "find themself".

Review Copy Provided by Author.

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Thursday, November 26, 2009

Challenge: 30 Books To Movies





button,30 Books To Movies


Timeline: 01 Jan 2010 - 31 Dec 2010
Goal: To read 30 books that have been adapted into movies, and watch said movies
Details:

**You have to sign up for the challenge at  Bibliophile's Lounge, otherwise you'll be ineligible to win any goodies!

• You don't have to select your books ahead of time. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed. Crossovers from other reading challenges count.

• If you decide to join this challenge be sure to create a post telling others. Also, please make sure you add a link back to this post so others can join in. You can join at any time!

• Non-bloggers may enter as well. If you have a blog, please post the review of BOTH the book and movie on your blog, detailing:

a) Your honest opinions of the book and movie

b) Which one did you enjoy more (book or movie?)

c) What do you think is so good about the book for it to have been made into a movie

Make sure you label the reviews with “30 Books To Movies” so it’ll be easier for me to link them.

• Series only count as one entry. For example, even though there are 7 Harry Potter books, altogether they only count as 1 of the 30 books because they belong to the same series.

*List

List may change but here is what I am planning on so far.

01. The Lovely Bones
02. Lemony Snickett
03. The Bone Collector
04. Bringing Out The Dead
05. Bridget Jones's Diary
06. Coraline
07. Harry Potter Book 1
08. In Her Shoes
09. Like Water for Chocolate
10. Memoirs of a Geisha
11. The Notebook
12. The Polar Express
13. Practical Magic
14. The Princess Diaries
15. The Pursuit of Happyness
16. Queen of the Damned
17. Riding in Cars with Boys
18. White Oleander
19. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
20. The Green Mile
21. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
22. Christmas with the Cranks (book title: Skipping Christmas)
23. Forrest Gump
24. Flowers in the Attic
25. The Scarlet Letter
26. The Crucible
27. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
28. The Devil Wears Prada
29. Derailed
30. Hoot
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Bran Hambric: The Fairfield Curse


Has anyone read this yet? I think it will be on my next book buy venture.  lol
 
Bran Hambric was found locked in a bank vault at six years old, with no memory of his past. For years, he has lived with one of the bankers, wondering why he was left behind -- until one night, when he is fourteen, he is suddenly confronted by a maddened creature, speaking of Bran’s true past and trying to kidnap him.

Bran finds that he is at the center of a plot which started years before he was even born: the plot of a deadly curse his mother created…and one that her former masters are hunting for him to complete.

Haunted by the spirit of his mother’s master and living in a city where magic is illegal, Bran must undo the crimes of his past...before it is too late.
 
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Review: Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich


Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Genre: Chick Lit/ Fiction/ Holiday
Pages: 192
Rating 5/5

 

I loved this between the numbers story! It wasn't as involved and fulfilling as the number books are but it was a refreshing quick read with a little holiday magic mixed in.

Agent Plum is down to the wire and has not bought any gifts yet for Christmas, has a strange man, Diesal, literally popping in and out of her life and apartment, and on top of all that has to arrest Sandy Claws!

As is anything with Stephanie in it, Visions of Sugar Plums is a hilarious light hearted holiday read with lots of holiday catastrophe's.

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In My Mailbox (7)



Hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren

No Review Books Today :(

Won:  Lenore Noogies by Roman Dirge from Fang-tastic Books

Bought: Beastly by Alex Flinn


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What Kind of Girl on Top Are You?

Check out my review of Girl On Top by Nicole Williams and take the quiz below!

What Kind of Girl on Top Are You?

By Nicole Williams,

Author of Girl on Top: Your Guide to Turning Dating Rules into Career Success


Which rule applies to you? Take this quiz and find out.

1) At your office you're known for:

Your hard ass tendencies.

Always being a team player.

Being a great negotiator.

2) There's a position open in your department, but when you ask your boss about promoting you, she tells you she "doesn't think you're ready." What do you do?

Send her an e-mail later that afternoon with a detailed list of all the reasons why you ARE ready. She's wrong about you and you're going to prove it.

Slink back to your desk and spend the rest of the afternoon thinking of ways you can get your boss to notice you.

Revamp your resume and put the word out to close friends that you're looking to make a change. If your boss won't promote you, you'll find someone who will.

3) Your best work friend confides in you that she's sleeping with your supervisor. What do you do with this information?

Nothing, until she gets the raise that you were promised. Then you casually let it slip that it wasn't her way with a spreadsheet that earned her the extra bank.

Nothing. You don't agree with her tactics, but you also don't gossip.

Bring it up in your next job interview when your interviewer asks why you want to leave your current position.

4) Would you rather be liked or respected?

Respected

Liked

As long as they know your name, you don't care whether they love you or hate you.

5) You've got a meeting with an important client this morning. As you all file into the conference room, the CEO of your firm asks you to bring him some coffee. You aren't his assistant. What's your response?

"I'm slated to speak first in our presentation, but I'd be happy to call your assistant if you're unable to get the coffee for yourself. What's her extension again?"

"Cream and sugar?"

"Sure, but what are you going to do for me in return?"

6) You turn your Blackberry off for a few hours to visit your ailing grandfather, and when you check it later that night, you've got six messages from your client and two from your boss wondering why you're "unreachable." What's your damage control strategy?

Email your client and tell him you've been at your sick grandfather's bedside all night, but you'd be happy to help him first thing in the am. Could this guy be any more of a jackass?!

Apologize for being offline and promise to take care of his concerns ASAP.

Turn your Blackberry to silent and spend the rest of the evening watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. You can't do anything about the "crisis" until morning, anyhow, and they don't pay you enough to try.

7) You're on an interview when the recruiter asks you to name your current salary. It's really $50K, but what do you tell him?

$65K. Negotiations start with the salary you want, not the one you have.

$55K. Odd numbers sound more believable. And since that's not too big of a jump, they won't be suspicious.

$70K, plus all of the perks you're currently getting. You can't work for a company that doesn't pay for your gym membership.

8) You're out to dinner with your boss and two of your clients. When the bill comes, you reach for your corporate AMEX, only to have your boss give you the death stare. "I've got this one," she hisses as she rips the check from your hand. What do you do?

Apologize immediately and later let her know you didn't mean any disrespect. It all comes out of the same pot anyway, right?

Thank her for her generosity, though inside you're quietly seething. How dare this bitch embarrass you in front of others?!

Apologize, but file away the incident in the back of your mind. She's an HR nightmare and this'll come in handy someday.





Mostly A's: Treat Him Mean To Keep Him Keen

Sometimes you've gotta be the mean girl -- after all, she's the one who gets the respect. But there's a fine line between bat shit crazy bitch and tough cookie, and you know exactly where it's drawn. Your colleagues respect you -- they're afraid not to.




Mostly B's: Keep Your Mouth Shut

You'll never be accused of being a blabber and with good reason. You only open your mouth when you have something truly useful to say. It's a quality that others in your office would do well to learn from you.




Mostly C's: Don't Give Away the Milk For Free

People won't pay for what they can get gratis, and while this initial rule applied to sex before marriage, it works in the boardroom as well. You know your value and because of this, you don't let colleagues take advantage of you. When they start, you know it's time to move on to your next adventure.



©2009 Nicole Williams, author of Girl on Top: Your Guide to Turning Dating Rules into Career Success

Author Bio

Nicole Williams, author of Girl on Top: Your Guide to Turning Dating Rules into Career Success, is the best-selling author of Wildly Sophisticated: A Bold New Attitude for Career Success and Earn What You're Worth, and the founder of WORKS by Nicole Williams, the first media and content company marketed toward young professional women. Her advice is featured regularly in major media outlets including Elle, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Marie Claire, the Wall Street Journal,and the Financial Times. Nicole also regularly appears on The Today Show, ABC's Primetime, Good Morning America, Fox News, and CNN.

You can visit Nicole's websites at http://www.nicolewilliams.com/ and http://www.girlontopbook.com/.

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The Colorful Reading Challenge


Hosted by Lost In Books

The Colorful Reading Challenge

At the request of some of the participants of this year's Colorful Reading Challenge, I am hosting it again for 2010.

If you did not participate in 2009, here are the rules for the challenge:

The point of the challenge is to read 9 books with 9 different colors in the title. Six colors are required, while the last 3 can be your choice. Books may be overlapped with other challenges (I always love that rule so I always have that rule for my challenges. :) At least 6 of the books should be new to you (doesn't matter which 6).

The Six Required Colors are:

1. Blue
3. Red
4. Gold/Yellow
5. White
6. Silver
7.
8.
9.

The 3 remaining colors can be anything from purple, orange, and green to magenta, crimson, and cream. It doesn't matter as long as their is a color in the title.

There is no need to make a list of books and if you do you may change it at any time. The challenge runs from January 1- December 31, 2010. If you would like to participate, please sign up using the Mr. Linky


 
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In My Mailbox (6)

 


Hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren

I forget to do these on Sunday so I am gonna try to update as I get goodies. 

Today was an awesome mail day!

For Review:
Shakespeare Ashes by Chris DeBrie
Camp Club Girls & The Mystery at Discovery Lake by Renae Brumbaugh
Camp Club Girls - Sydney's DC Discovery by Jean Fischer
The Creed of Violence by Boston Teran
The Temples of Light by Danielle Rama Hoffman
Healing Sands by Nancy Rue & Stephen Arterburn

I won:
Golden's Rule by CE Edmonson (Feathered Quill)

Bought:
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace by Mary Janice Davidson & Anthony Alongi




 
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Monday, November 23, 2009

It's Monday! What ya Reading?



Hosted by JKaye's Blog
 
Read this past week:
Dark Stranger by Susan Sizemore
The Christmas Story by Donna VanLiere
Chocolate: A Love Story by Max Brenner
The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate
From Darkness To Light by Lynn Christopher Roby
 
Currently Reading:
Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
Love finds You in Lonesome Prairie by Goyer & Fleiss
Out at Night by Susan Arnout Smith
Seven by Jacqueline Leo
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Goth Girl Rising by Barry Lyga

Coming Up:
The Recipe Club by Israel & Garfinkel
Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah


 

 

 
 
 
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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Reviews: Stop It by Sally O. Lee


Stop It by Sally O. Lee
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing
Genre: Childrens Books
Pages: 36
Rating 4/5
 
Anabel likes to play dress-up and George likes to tease her by stealing her dress up clothes and pulling her cats tail.
 
Stop It is a cute short story with brilliant illustrations, but while the book is supposed to be centered around being a bully I feel it displays more of a sibling rivalry theme.

Regardless of the theme it still makes a wonderful first book for a child who is beginning to explore in reading with short sentences and few words on the pages.
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