Sanctuary's Finest

Come Join The Fun....

2008-12-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

....over at our new blog, Book Binge where right this very moment, we're celebrating books, the romance community and all kinds of goodness.

We've teamed up with The Good, The Bad and The Unread and we've got a lot of fun stuff going on. There's a round robin you can take part of that was starting by the very famous, Nora Roberts. We've got a ton of games planned and a scavenger hunt that's underway. Lots of ways to win some fabulous books to read over this holiday season, so what are you waiting for?

Get on over there and join in the fun!

Rowena
Book Binge
Blog: http://thebookbinge.com|Email: rowena[at]thebookbinge.com

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

2007-08-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob -- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

This is the much anticipated continuing first person story of Bella Swan, a 17-year-old girl who moved to Forks, Washington and fell in love with vampire Edward Cullen.

Graduation is fast approaching for Bella, and with it, her deadline for becoming a vampire. She's still on the outs with Jacob Black and she's starting to have second thoughts about being changed. Not to mention there are a spree of murders taking place in Seattle and Victoria, the crazed vampire who's been after Bella since Twilight, is still haunting Bella's dreams.

I've never been one for self-denial. I mean, I figure, you can lie to your friends, you can lie to your family, but ultimately, you cannot lie to yourself. Bella Swan takes "lying to yourself" to a whole new level in this book. So much that I was seriously tempted to stop reading.

Side Note: There will be spoilers included in my review. There's no way around it for me. If you are the type of person who doesn't want to know before you read it yourself, please don't read any further. :End Side Note

Once again we follow Bella's thoughts as she tries to deal with becoming a vampire, her overwhelming love for Edward, her constant worry for her family, and her despair at the gulf between her and Jacob.

I think my biggest problem with this novel is the way Bella constantly deludes herself. It started almost in the beginning. Alice has a vision at lunch while sitting with Bella and Edward. Bella is curious and wants to know what the vision was, but neither Edward or Alice will tell her. Edward then railroads her into going to visit her mom for the weekend in AZ, and then lies to Bella about the vision, telling her it was something much different than what it really is.

Prior to Edward telling her, Bella is sure she knows what the vision was about - Victoria - and has worked herself up into a nice fit of semi-panic. But when Edward tells her it was something inconsequential, she goes, "Oh. Good" and for the next 300 or so pages, she thinks to herself, "I'm just blowing this out of proportion again, just like I did with Alice's vision". She even does this after she finds out the truth of the vision and why Edward insisted she leave town for the weekend.

And that was the continuing trend throughout the book. She was in constant self-denial and always wanting to play the martyr. She finally makes amends with Jacob - who we know is totally in love with her - and she spends as much time with him as she can. But while she constantly thinks to herself, "I'm hurting him" she doesn't back away, and she doesn't make an effort to ease the pain he feels over her relationship with Edward.

I also had a very, very hard time with her developing relationship with Jacob. She finally agrees to marry Edward and then shortly after realizes she's IN love with Jacob. Yes, I said IN LOVE with him. Although she loves Edward more, she could envision a life with Jacob. A comfortable, human life. She tells Jacob all of this and then says, "but I'm going to stay with Edward". She even kisses him at one point (Jacob, I mean). Who does that? Naturally Edward found out right away because he can read Jacob's mind, but rather than being upset with Bella he tells her he understood her reasons, that Jacob doesn't fight fair, and that he loves her no matter what. Which, of course, just made Bella feel even worse.

At one point, I thought this was going to turn into another Love Triangle series, and I was sorely disappointed. I'm still not entirely sure that won't happen.

Eventually they (Bella, Edward and Alice) figure out that Victoria is creating her own little army of "Newborns" - vampires who have just been created and don't have any control over themselves but have tremendous power - with the intention of bringing them to Forks to wipe out the Cullens and kill Bella. They begin preparing to fight them, but Jasper, who has experience fighting Newborns, doesn't think they'll be able to win the fight, as they're all sadly outnumbered.

Until the werewolves get involved. Jacob and the rest of the gang from La Push agree to fight with the Cullens to save Bella. I have to say, despite how annoyed I was with the book in general and Bella in particular, that was pretty cool. Seeing the Vamps and Weres working together was great. Although I still say Bella isn't worth it.

Perhaps I'm not making much sense, or my frustration with the book is overshadowing the actual review of this book, but this is how I felt whilst reading..frustrated. And angry. And annoyed.

There were some good things. We find out more about Esme and Jasper and how they became Vampires. Learning about their pasts was very interesting. We found out more about the werewolves, too, and how they came to be and the legends they pass down. Of course, it was from these legends that Bella gets the idea into her head to sacrifice herself so everyone else can live, but at least it doesn't happen that way.

The fight scenes were cool, even though we saw them all from Bella's POV. And there's an extremely unguarded moment when Jacob and Edward are talking about Bella with each other - when they think she's asleep - that really touched me. Seeing where they both come from in regards to her..well, it was very sweet and touching. I could really feel the love they both have for her, although I am truly baffled by it. I'd just want to smack her myself, but that's just me.

I think, overall, I expected Bella to get stronger and more independent. To find herself, I suppose. And instead she seemed to get more co-dependent and more self-serving. She was just plain selfish, assuming the world revolves around her and only thinking of herself, never of the other people in her life.

The Epilogue was very well done, however. It's written from Jacob's POV and I found it to be very insightful. If SM writes Midnight Sun -Twilight from Edward's POV - or anything from Jacob's POV, I'd scoop them up in a heartbeat.

Anyway, despite my issues - and there were many - with the overall story and Bella, SM's writing still drew me in. She obviously has the talent and drive it takes to produce a constant page turner, and for that alone I cannot rate this in the "terrible" range.

3.0 out of 5

I honestly don't know how I feel about continuing on with the series. Prior to reading this one, I was excited to read more about Bella and the Cullens and Jacob. Now? I'm not sure I want to see where this train wreck leads us. Although, I will probably buy the next installment. What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment.

*I was going to include links in this post to SM's site and etc, but it appears to be down. If I remember, I'll update it later.

Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas

2007-06-11T01:28:00.000-07:00

What is the price of love?
Nick Gentry is reputed to be the most skillful lover in all England. Known for solving delicate situations, he is hired to seek out Miss Charlotte Howard. He believes his mission will be easily accomplished Â but that was before he met the lady in question.
For instead of a willful female, he discovers one in desperate circumstances, hiding from a man who would destroy her very soul. So Nick shockingly offers her a very different kind of proposition Â one he has never offered before.
He asks her to be his bride.
And he knows that this will be much more than a union in name only. For he senses what Charlotte does not yet know Â that her appetite for sensuality matches his own. But what Nick learns surprises him. For while London's most notorious lover might claim Charlotte's body, he quickly discovers it will take much more than passion to win her love.

This is the third book in the Bow Street Runner Series.

So Nick and Lottie marry. Lottie because she wants Nick's protection. Nick because he desires Lottie. Nick here is a very skilled lover. He learned all his moves from a famous madam. So we have a few steamy love scenes. We also have a shower scene. Seems showers were just being introduced. What amazed me is that after Lottie has her first shower, the servent says she can have another in a few hours. Because that's how long it takes for the water to heat!

Anyway~ We have Nick is also fighting his personal demons. When he was 14, he was sentenced 10 months to a prison hulk. During his sentence, he saw things that no one should have to. He keeps his distance from Lottie afraid once she learns the truth, she'll leave him.

All in all a good read. I liked Lady Sophia's Lover more, but enjoyed this one more than Someone to Watch Over Me. I give it a B.

Again the order for the Bow Street Runners Series are:

Someone To Watch Over Me
Lady's Sophia's Lover
Worth Any Price

Talk Nerdy To Me by Vicki Lewis Thompson

2007-06-07T01:57:00.000-07:00

Fashion model Eve Dupree is fed up with being labeled “the pretty one” while her sister’s called a genius. Eve’s got loads of brilliant ideas, not the least of which is the invention she’s building in her garage. But when she turns to the nerd next door to help get it off the ground, she finds herself on dangerous ground.

Charlie Shepherd has discovered that there’s more to Eve than meets the eye. But it’s not just her body he likes—it’s those sexy brains of hers. Romance is a complication he doesn’t need right now. The problem is, she has something he needs and he can’t seem to resist her.

Keeping her creation under wraps is harder than Eve expected—as is denying her attraction to Charlie. But when a saboteur starts sniffing around her project, she questions everyone around her, even her nerd in shining armor. Can opposites attract or will they ignite a fire they can’t control?

Ever since I read The Nerd Who Loved Me, I've been obsessed with VLT's nerds. I honestly never realized a nerd could be hot.

Boy was I wrong.

In her latest installment of Nerd Books, VLT again shows me just how hot a nerd can be. Charlie was hot, sweet and definitely a nerd.

Though I will say, the nerd-speak didn't do much for me. Still, it was a sweet, light read.

3.5 out of 5

The Other Twin by Katherine Stone

2007-05-29T01:40:00.000-07:00

On a rainy day in Northern California over 30 years ago a tragic accident occurs. Young Claire Forrester goes into labor as she watches her husband succumb to his injuries. For the next five days, she divides her time between her husband's hospital room and the neonatal unit where her daughter clings to life. Now her daughter, Paige, is a caring doctor who is slowly succumbing to her own medical problems. Gwen St. James, a makeup artist, is called in by Paige to hide the ravages cancer has wrought on a terminally ill patient before she goes home. Gwen and Paige become fast friends. Each feels as if she has found a part of herself that was missing, which is understandable under the circumstances. Claire Forrester also feels something is missing. Although her memory can't quite grasp what she's trying to recall, it does hold the key to unlock the emptiness each woman is experiencing in this moving story of family love.

This is a beautiful and touching story. I really like KS. She's different than a lot of the other romance authors I read, but good none-the-less.

The story is split between 2 woman. Paige, a sweet and caring doctor who's hiding a secret from everyone and Gwen, a very sweet makeup artist who has a horrible birth mark that covers half of her face.

Paige's relationship with her mother is very strained, even though everyone else seems to love her.

Gwen really struggles to deal with her scarred face.

It's a sweet and poingant story. Not a quick, light read, but still really good.

Willing by Lucy Monroe

2007-05-15T01:38:00.000-07:00

They’re the good guys fighting the bad guys. They’ll get the job done—if the price is right and so is the cause. Meet three sexy men who individually are READY, WILLING, and ABLE to go the distance—and together, are unstoppable…

Josie McCall has been raised to be a soldier, and she could be the best—if she wanted it. Instead, she left her dad’s mercenary school behind for a normal job in computers. But now that someone has torched the school and her dad is MIA from the hospital, Josie’s going to use every bit of her merc training to find him and hunt down the culprits who took him. Josie knows a lot about explosives, hand-to-hand combat, and tracking. What she doesn’t know about is sex. She has no idea what to do with the volcanic attraction she feels for her dad’s new partner, Daniel Black Eagle. And that feels more dangerous than any bomb…

Daniel knows exactly what he’d like to do about that attraction. The brooding explosives expert can’t get within five feet of Josie without wanting to touch, taste, and protect her—even if he’s sure she would happily drop-kick him if she knew one sizzling moment of his fantasies. But he’ll save it for later. Right now, he’s got his hands full figuring out who set that bomb and took Josie’s dad. Daniel’s sure of one thing, though—he’s not letting Josie McCall out of his sight for a single second. Convincing the cutest, most desirable trained soldier he’s ever met that she needs a bodyguard isn’t going to be easy. But if she’ll let him, he’ll show her he’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe, and along the way, he’ll make her feel every inch a woman…

This is the second book in her Mercenary series and I loved it. Willing was hot, steamy, romantic and action packed. LM is really good at getting into the technical side of things without boring her readers.

Josie is tough, but still very vulnerable. I loved that she was one of the best trained mercs in the business but still very feminine. My heart went out to her when she was talking about how hard it was to grow up with a father that demanded she be a better soldier than all the rest.

It also broke my heart to hear about Daniel's past. His upbringing was sad and violent and I just wanted to wrap him up in cotton and keep him safe!

Very good read. I highly recommend this series.

The books that come before this one are:

Merry Christmas Baby: Silver Bella (anthology)
Three Brides for Three Bad Boys
Ready

After the Fire by Kathryn Shay

2007-04-30T01:20:00.000-07:00

Detective Megan Hale comes to Hidden Cove, leaving behind painful memories of her policeman husband killed in the line of duty. But when she meets fireman Mitch Malvaso, Megan's heart is set ablaze-even if it knows the risks.

Near New York City, the Hidden Cove Fire Department responds to the dangerous Sinco fire. Three Malvaso siblings, who work at the same fire station, become trapped inside, but ultimately are rescued. Jenny insists that she, Mitch, the oldest, and Zach, the youngest, pledge to change their messed up personal lives as each one realizes how close to death they came.

Six months later, they're still on the job and have not yet made the changes they said they were going to.

Zach, who has been divorced from his wife for 2 years, vowed to win her back and prove that he's a reformed rake (apparently he cheated on her quite a bit while they were married) and try to be a better father, but not having much success with the former. Though he had made quite a bit of progress with the latter.

Jenny had vowed to have a child, via artificial insemination, so she finally works up the courage to ask her best friend since childhood, Grady O'Connor, if he'd be the donor. They've been friends since kindergarten and up to that point had no physical attraction between them. Jenny is afraid that she'll ruin their friendship with her request (they've both been scarred by previous relationships, though Grady seems more wounded than she), but Grady agrees. He suggests they do it the right way, though. At first, Jenny seems hesitant, not wanting to ruin their friendship, but eventually agrees.

Mitch had vowed to work things out with his shrew of a wife and become a better father to his two teenage children. Though he seemed to be making a genuine effort with his children, he hadn't been able to make any effort with his wife. When he meets Detective Megan Hale, and she proposes they start a camp for children of firefighters and police officers who were killed in the line of duty, he immediately agrees to help.

Megan is dealing with some losses of her own. Her husband had been killed in the line of duty several years before and her father had died in the line only a few months before she moved to Hidden Cove from the city.

Basically, the book was alright. I didn't like the fact that throughout the entire book Mitch was married while his feelings developed for the detective. The book is approximately 360 pages and until page 299 he was still sharing a bedroom with his wife. Though he didn't physically cheat on her, he definitely had an emotionaly affair with Megan. I couldn't seem to get past that.

Besides that, the story was kind of muddled, with too many POV's throughout the book. A lot of characters were introduced and there were several subplots with the Malvoso family (there are two other siblings not in the firefighter line of work), including issues with both Zach and Mitch's children. Apparently this is the first book of a trilogy, with Zach getting his story at a later date, so, in my opinion, a lot of the parts about him could have been shortened or cut out completely.

There was also a lot of technical information included, about the process of firefighting and the terminology they use. While I like to be informed, at times I felt like I was reading an instruction manual.

If my summary seems a bit muddle and confusing, it's because that's how I found the book to be. I have the other 2 on my shelf to be read, and I'm not sure I'll be able to read them.

Overall, I enjoyed the story of Jenny and Grady, but didn't really care for the book.

I give it a 1.25 out of 5.

Another New Start

2007-04-26T05:13:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I know I haven't been reviewing here as long as the three ladies that are starting Book Binge, but I've enjoyed my time all the same.

BUT since Holly, Rowena and Izzy are leaving I've decided to make a new start too. Only I'll be doing it alone. Well mostly. lol.

I've started a new blog called Escape With Me where I'll be reviewing all the books I read, or listen to, and just talking about anything books. I'll also be having guest reviewers, and other fun stuff.

I'm really excited about this new start. Everything is not put together yet, like I still have a 'blogger template' till I find something I really like. And all my links aren't up. But I do have a new review up already. So check me out and I hope you enjoy yourselves. I hope to see you all there.

You've all been great, thank you!

~Nicole

Come Join Us In Our New Adventure!

2007-04-25T18:17:00.000-07:00

There comes a time in a blogger's life when a fresh start is needed and that time has come for us. We hope that all of you lovely readers will join, Holly, Isabel and myself in our new book adventure over at Book Binge where we will be reading and discussing the books we know and love, along with whatever else we feel needs to be blogged about.

With this fresh new start, we plan to host lots of contests, free book giveaways and just loads of book lovin' fun.

For those new readers of Book Binge, we'd like to invite you to participate in our PIMP BOOK BINGE CONTEST (dude, try saying THAT three times real fast). All you have to do is post a blog up introducing Book Binge on your blog and then leave a comment on our new blog, letting us know that you did it (the link to your blog and the post will be most helpful thank you!) and your name will automatically be entered into a drawing to win your choice of any 3 books you want.

The winner will be announced one week from today, May 2nd at 3pm, PST.

Thanks and see you over there!

Hugs,
Rowena, Holly and Isabel!

Nerd? Me?

2007-04-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

It's true, I'm a nerd. And I have to tell you, in true nerd fashion I'm seriously annoyed right now. Why? Because for almost 2 weeks I've been trying to read Demon Moon by Meljean Brook. I was lucky enough to win an ARC from Sybil's blog and Meljean emailed me ages ago with a download of it.

I was kind of on the fence about starting it, because I've been in a paranormal funk lately and this just didn't appeal. But so far? I LOVE IT! LLOOOOVEEE IITTT!

The problem? I haven't had time to read lately. We're in the process of painting MM's house, and I have 2 small kids, and we had Easter and family obligations and, well, the list goes on and on. I want to read. I don't want to deal with pesky things like breakfast for my children and laundry and painting. Ugh.

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Social Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Musician
Drama Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

What about the rest of you? Are you nerds just like me? Ever feel like screaming, "GO AWAY I HAVE TO FINISH THIS BOOK!!!!"?

Darkest Hour by Meg Cabot.

2007-04-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

Heroine: Susannah Simon
Category: Young Adult
Grade: B-

When the nineteenth--century ghost of Maria de Silva wakes her up in the middle of the night, Suze knows this is no ordinary visitation -- and not just from the knife at her throat, either. In life, Maria was the fiancée of Jesse -- the same Jesse who was murdered a hundred and fifty years before. The same Jesse Suze is in love with.

Maria threatens Suze: The backyard construction must cease. Suze has a pretty good idea what -- or rather, who -- Maria doesn't want found. But in solving Jesse's murder, will Suze end up losing him forever?

Spoilers in this review, if you don't like them, move on and come back once you've read the book.

You've been warned.

I was expecting this book to be my favorite book because it centers around what happened to Jesse and I was looking forward to really getting to know the Jesse that I have fallen for since the beginning of the series, but the book was more about stupid Maria and I found out a lot of things about her that I really could care less about. I don't care about how she lived, how many kids she had, how happy she was with her stupid ugly husband, Diego...all I wanted to know about was Jesse, but did we get enough Jesse in this book?

Not really.

But man, I enjoyed the new characters. I loved little Jack and his hottie brother Paul, well I don't know if I love him but I am intrigued to see just what this boy is up to and what exactly he is.

I'm pissed off that he didn't help his little brother, Jack deal with being a mediator. I mean, Jack was literally freaked out about his ability and Paul, having the SAME ability didn't help him out? What's really going on? I don't know if I like this guy at all because then at the end when everything is coming together, I came to the same conclusion that Suze came to and I was like, oh hell to the nah, I wanna kick his ass.

But then I read the letter and got confused all over again and though, oh hell, I can't wait to read the next book to see what the hell is going on.

I really liked the storyline of this book, I loved the whole Maria coming back to scare Suze off and keep Andy and Dopey away from Jesse's body but I've got to wonder, was THAT why he was still here? Because he was waiting for someone to find his body so that they will know that he was killed and did not disappear? I mean, when Suze asks him, he says that's not it but if that's not it, then what is it?

WHY IS JESSE STILL HERE?

Because he's in love with Suze just as much as she's in love with him? Oh goodness, I hope so but seriously guys, how the hell is a relationship like that going t work?

I've got to say that the ending was whoa, I loved it! I wasn't expecting it but when it happened, I was jumping for joy, YAY SUZE!

I really enjoyed this book but not as much as the book before. I enjoyed meeting Jack and reading about the old characters that I still know and love in this book and I am going to stop this review now so that I can go and read the next book.

WOO HOO!

Redux: Colleen Gleason is Guest Blogging

2007-04-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

Quick! Head over to Twisted Kingdom now! Colleen Gleason is guest blogging and doing giveaways and Ames has a review up!

Guest Blogger: Rene Lyons ~ Contest: And The Winner Is....

2007-04-17T08:00:00.001-07:00

Kailana!!!!!

Congrats, babe. You've won a free download of Tempting Darkness and your name has been entered in Rene's April drawing. To see what you might win from that, see here.

Kailana, please email either myself or Rene.

Congrats again!

And thanks so much to everyone else who visited yesterday. Don't forget to buy your copy of Tempting Darkness. You can get it here.

Guest Blogger: Rene Lyons on Fate

2007-04-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Recently the subject of Fate came up in a conversation I had with a good friend. Although I toss the word around in my books, I’ve never given Fate much thought when it came to my own life. Well, that conversation got me thinking about Fate and whether or not it was something I truly believed in. After lengthy consideration I came to the conclusion that I do believe in Fate. In spades. I just never realized it.

I believe things happen for a reason and they happen when they’re supposed to. I also believe people come into our lives for a reason. It’s pretty difficult for me not to believe that after the last year and a half. Since I’ve been published I’ve met a wealth of people, some who’ve hindered me and some who’ve become as vital to me as breathing is. But all have helped bring me to the point I’m at now. I believe this all goes back to Fate. I called it kindred – and with my friend that’s what it is. We’re two like spirits who found each other to make a whole. Cheesy? Maybe. But it’s true.

I also find that Fate had a hand in my writing. Since I was a kid I’d scribble plenty of “beginnings” but no “middles” and certainly no “ends” to the stories cooking up in my head. That all changed when a car hit my brother and ended his life at only thirty-eight. It made me take stock of myself. I looked around at all that I’ve never accomplished and realized I couldn’t lave this world without having ever tried to reach my dream of being a published author. That’s what compelled me to sit down to write a book to the end. I finished Midnight Sun three months later.

I took a chance and it paid off. But – even if I’d never gotten published, I believe Fate forced my hand to write these Templar books. Through my characters I came to know myself better. I saw my own pain reflected in Constantine. My guilt came to the forefront with Lucian and my sense of responsibility with Tristan. With Sebastian I realized that although I put up a good facade, I’m not as tough as I believe. And with Raphael I found my humor again. More importantly, through them all I’ve dug down deep and pulled out a strength I’d buried beneath the muck of life.

Fate began this journey I’m on almost thirty-four years ago and I have to say – it’s been one hell of a ride.

Do you believe in Fate? Do you think you'd be where you are today without it? Or do you think you make your own Fate?

Guest Blogger: Rene Lyons W/ Special Guest Andy Douglas

2007-04-16T12:00:00.001-07:00

Andy graciously agreed to be ~~tortured~~ interviewed today.

Rene Lyons: When you get hit with a steel chair, what’s the first thing that goes through your mind?

Andy Douglas: OUCH!!!!

RL: What’s the craziest thing a fan has done to get your attention during a match?

AD: On more that one occasion, we've had female fans bend over and moon us and once we had this 40 or 50 year old lady flash us.

RL: What do you do if you get a “wedgie” in the ring?

AD: Slowly tip toe over to Chase and let him get it out for me!

RL: You’re being exiled to Transylvania. What are the three things you’ll bring?

AD: 1)Laptop 2)Underworld DVD 3)Rene Lyons

RL: If you had the chance to ask any one person (living or dead) one question, who would it be and what would you ask?

AD: Vlad the Impaler. I would want to know the truth...is he really the original Dracula?

RL: What’s one strange thing no one knows about you?

AD: I really really, someday, want to buy and restore a duplicate of the General Lee from the Dukes of Hazard.

RL: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it read?

AD: Here once Andy Douglas laid. In the grave he hadn't stayed. He's out there roaming in the dark. On the night he'll leave his mark.

Sanctuary’s Finest: What was it like modeling for a romance cover?

AD: It's an honor. I was extremely excited when Rene asked me to be a part of Tempting Darkness.

SF: Be honest now, did you feel less of a man for having done it?

AD: Ha, less of a man.......try twice the man! Having women reading a romance novel and having my picture as mental food.....doesn't get much better.

SF: Would you do it again?

AD: In a heartbeat.

SF: What would it take to talk you into reading a romance novel?

AD: Well before this it probably would never happen, but I do plan on reading Tempting Darkness.

SF: Is there anything upcoming with modeling now that you were on the cover?

AD: Well I have an appointment coming up here in Nashville with a major modeling company so who knows what's in store for the future.

RL: If you had to a pick motto for your life, what would it be?

AD: Live with no regrets!

Great Interview! If you have any lingering questions, leave a comment. Who knows, if we're lucky Andy might decide to pop by later and answer them. Andy? What do you say?

You can also visit both Andy and Rene online:

www.renelyons.net
www.andydouglas.com

And on MySpace:

Rene Lyons
Andy Douglas

Guest Blogger: Rene Lyons ~ CONTEST!!!!!!!

2007-04-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

So......anyone want to win a prize? Tonight at 10pm est I'll select one person at random who's left a comment on one of our posts today to win a download of Tempting Darkness.

You'll also automatically be entered in my April contest, of which the winner will receive a mouse pad with the cover of Tempting Darkness on it, signed by both Andy and Rene. A bookmark, postcard with the image of Andy Douglas, and a print copy of Midnight Sun – all signed by Rene Lyons. From Andy, you’ll be getting a bandanna and a signed picture of him! Oh, and let’s not forget, a $10 gift certificate for My Bookstore and More!

Just leave a comment to be entered. GOOD LUCK!

Guest Blogger: Rene Lyons w/ Special Guest Andy Douglas

2007-04-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

Rene Lyons:
When I was a kid I was afraid of everything. And I do mean everything. From the dark to latex Halloween masks – my fears knew no bounds. Forget horror movies. Even the cheesiest B-movie could keep me awake for weeks. But that all changed the day I happened to watch Dracula starring Frank Langella. I shared Lucy’s awe of him and ultimately, her pain when the sun took him from her. I walked away from that movie sharing her secret smile after seeing Dracula’s cape flutter across the sky – a hint that though he was gone - he wasn’t gone.

My love of vampires was born that day. I went from being the kid who was terrified to sleep with a foot dangling off the side of the bed (didn’t every bed have that damned razor-toothed demon living under it?) to sleeping with my window open and forgoing garlic (a nearly impossible feat in an Italian household). Basically, if Dracula chanced upon me, I was ready!

Yeah, I guess you can say I had it bad. Wait. Did I say had? I mean have. I have it bad. Some might even go so far as to say I have a (slight) obsession with vampires. I often get asked "what’s their appeal?". To that I answer – everything. People assume that because I write romance it’s the romantic aspect of them that appeals to me the most. They’re wrong. I’m not a very romantic person nor are my books heavy on the flowery romance. It’s the darkness of the vampire myth that I find most appealing. They’re creatures steeped in shadow, sin, and sexuality. And that captivates me. Their majesty and savagery fascinates me.

After Midnight Sun was published I met plenty of people who shared my love of vampires but none who shared my obsession - until I was introduced to Andy Douglas. His love of vampires matched my own and made him the perfect man to help bring Lucian of Penwick to life. I’m lucky to know him – even luckier to call him a friend. Now, with that said, allow me to turn this post over to my kindred spirit, Andy Douglas…

Andy Douglas:
I too was afraid of scary movies as a child. It probably didn't help that I watched the movie Poltergeist at age 5. I really didn't start enjoying scary movies until my late teens. However, there was always one scary character that I was never afraid of.......Dracula. I can always remember having a fondness for vampires and Dracula. My mom even made me dress up as something different for Halloween one year because she was getting tired of me being Dracula every year. I'm not sure what it is but the vampire world has always been a part of my life.

The aspect of the vampire world that I hate, is the "goth" side. Every time people find out that I'm in to vampires, they say "well you don't look like you would like that kind of stuff." And that's due to the fact that I don't wear all black, have a pale face, and paint my fingernails black. To me, goth and the vampire world are two separate things. What I do and what I enjoy is a belief and a lifestyle that revolves around vampirism and an idea of how vamps would interact within today’s society. It does not revolve around wearing black because my parents pissed me off. But hey, that's just me. Thank you.

What about you? What were you afraid of as a child? What creature of the night fascinates you now? Are there any clichés that drive you nuts now that you're older?

Guest Blogger: Rene Lyons

2007-04-16T10:01:00.001-07:00

Most days run pretty smoothly around here. I rise bright and shinny at noon. My servant brings me a gilded tray bearing a steaming cappuccino, scones, and my morning paper. The nanny has Jesse fed, dressed, and in a wonderful mood. I languish in bed for an hour or so, thinking up some juicy plot-twist I’ll get to writing in between my manicure, massage, and hair appointments. After I write a bit, it’s usually off to some fancy boutique to shop for some cute clothes. Once back home, I take back to the computer where I spend the rest of my day lost in a world of vampires, demons, and demi-gods.

Well, the last part is true. The rest? Not so much.

I’m usually awakened at six (as in a.m. Blah) by a toddler yelling, “all done! Inside, Nae. Eat now.” In case you don’t speak “toddler” that’s “I’m all done sleeping. So are you, Mommy, so get your lazy butt out of bed and fix me some breakfast. Now!” And so, I drag myself out of bed, shuffle to the bathroom - where I contemplate flushing myself down the toilet. As I impatiently await my coffee to perk (is it me, or does it seem to take forever to make at that ungodly hour of the morning?) I make pancakes for my daughter, who by now is bouncing off the walls. I sit with her while she eats (no, I don’t do breakfast. Just the idea of food that early turns my stomach) wondering if there’s some law that prevents me from crawling back to bed, leaving her with the run of the house. (What? Don’t look at me like that! You’ve all thought the same thing too.)

By the time I get to the computer I already have a headache.

Throughout the day I try to get in as much work as possible without it getting in the way of my time with Jesse. I think I (sort of) have a nice schedule worked out. I’m sure when she’s older Jesse will be on some shrink’s couch talking about how I was a neglectful mom while she was growing up. And I’m sure I’ll think she’s lost her mind considering how hard I work to make time for both her and the writing.

Come the night, I work. And I mean work. I write until my fingers ache and my eyes feel as if they’re going to explode. I write until my head hurts so much I damn near have tears in my eyes. Most of what I write I keep. Some, come the next morning, I’ll trash and wonder what the hell I was thinking the before night. But always, I love what I’m doing. I’ve waited over thirty years to be at this point and never once have I forgotten I’m living my dream.

So although my life isn’t exactly calm, orderly, and luxuriant, it’s more than I could have ever hoped for. This is one hell of a ride I’m on. Thankfully, I have fantastic readers, a great family, and amazing friends to share it with.

- Rene Lyons

www.renelyons.net

We Have Guest Bloggers Today!

2007-04-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

Today here at Sanctuary's Finest, we have the pleasure of having one of our most favorite authors, Rene Lyons guest blogging with us to promote her latest installment into her Templars Series, Tempting Darkness.

Tempting Darkness is Lucian's book and Rene will be guest blogging with Andy Douglas of TNA fame, who graciously posed for the cover of Lucian's book.

How awesome is that?

We're sorry that you lovely East Coasters are getting this later than us West Coasters, but well, us West Coasters wake up later than you guys! =)

But to make things a little interesting around here, Rene will be giving away a free copy of Tempting Darkness so make sure you stick around to find out how to win yourself a free copy of hottie Lucian, alright?!! =) =)

Reunion by Meg Cabot.

2007-04-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

Heroine: Susannah Simon
Category: Young Adult
Grade: B++

The RLS Angels are out for blood, and only Suze can stop them—since she's the only one who can see them. The four ghostly teenagers died in a terrible car accident, for which they blame Suze's classmate Michael... and they'll stop at nothing until he's joined them in the realm of the dead.

As Suze desperately fends off each attempt on Michael's life, she finds she can relate to the Angels' fury. Because their deaths turn out not to have been accidental at all. And their killer is only too willing to strike again.

This is my favorite book of the series so far.

I've been reading non stop when I started reading this series and I seriously, can't thank Dance Chica enough for pimping this series to me. I just keep right on gobbling these books up.

The third book in the mediator series is another adventure that Father Junipero Serra Mission Academy Sophomore Susannah Simon has to fight her way through.

You see, there are 4 teenagers who were killed in a car accident and are pissed to high heaven that they're not reading or willing to move over to the other side until they avenge their own deaths by killing the other person driving the car that caused their own car to fly over the cliff near their make out spot.

So Susannah finds out about all of this and tries to save Michael from the numerous attempts on his life. He takes all of this protection from Suze as interest in him and it all goes straight to his head.

But seeing Suze work her way through this mystery and then solving it and going after the person involved in putting the people she loves in danger had me rootin' her on and cheering when she gets in her serious Buffy the Ghost Slayer frame of mind. She is a wonder and so kick ass, I'm sometimes jealous that I can't be that great, haha.

What I liked most in this book was how close Jesse and Suze are getting. They have come a long way from the first book and in the third book, you can see just how much they care for each other, even though they can't ever be together with him being a ghost and her being alive and all. I'm longing for them to be together, for them to find a way to be together that I'm seriously biting at the bit to hurry up with this review so that I can get to the fourth book already.

And dude, I just read the back of the fourth book and HOLY HELL it can only get better. Because, seriously???? Maria de Silva? HOLY WOW, you just know it's gonna be good stuff.

In any book that I read, if the family connection is strong, I'm gonna like it and this book is no different. Suze's family may be an after the fact family, a ready made family, one that wasn't born together but they definitely stay together. I love how Jake has dropped the step in front of sister where Suze is concerned and I totally love how he calls Suze's Mom, Mom. I think it's so frickin' the bomb that he's protective of his step sister even though she does some really hoey things, like going out with the guy that her Mother distinctly told her to stay away from.

It's great.

I even like how protective Suze continues to be over David. And then her relationship with Brad? It's just all good good stuff and I totally dig it.

It's part of why I am so absorbed in this series, it's just good, wholesome fun and adventures and Suze never ceases to make me crack the hell up. She's one funny chick.

This was another winner and I totally loved it!

Read this series and you can even pimp this series to your teenage kids, sisters, nieces, cousins, whatever..the whole family can enjoy this series, seriously!

Ninth Key by Meg Cabot.

2007-04-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

Heroine: Susannah Simon
Category: Young Adult
Grade: B-

Everything is going great for Suze. Her new life in California is a whirlwind of parties and excellent hair days. Tad Beaumont, the hottest boy in town, has even asked Suze out on her very first date. Suze is so excited that she's willing to ignore her misgivings about Tad... particularly the fact that he's not Jesse, whose ghostly status—not to mention apparent disinterest in her—make him unattainable.

What Suze can't ignore, however, is the ghost of a murdered woman whose death seems directly connected to dark secrets hidden in none other than Tad Beaumont's past.

This was a great addition to the series, it's got me hoping and wishing that in the next book, Reunion, that we'll be reunited with the boys that just up and disappeared from the first book. I want to see Bryce Martinson again, I want to see if him and Suze will hit it off like Tad Beaumont did in this book, even though Suze didn't really like him the same way that most girls like boys in school, I mean she only liked making out with him. But whatever, I want to see Bryce and Suze before I find another hottie guy for her to like.

I'm really excited to see Suze's reunion with her best friend, Gina from New York. I think that will be such an awesome story. I've been anxious to see what Gina would be like from all the talk that Suze does about her in the previous books.

But back to this book, it was good. I liked Shadowland better but I still enjoyed this story as well.

I enjoyed the whole "vampire" thing going on and I hecka enjoyed reading Suze's reaction to all of that. She's seriously the bomb.

I fell a little more in love with Jesse and dude, what is up with him and Suze? Can she really have relations with a ghost?

I WANT THAT FOR HER!

Nobody that Meg has introduced us to has come close to being perfect for Suze as Jesse has but I want her to get some experience before she goes on her merry way with Jesse, however that will be possible.

That's why I want her to have a thing with Bryce.

Well that and because he's such a cutie, even if he is a whiny baby. HA!

What I really enjoyed about this story was how the dynamics for Suze at home have changed and she DOES have a family with her step brothers and with Adam....and how her life in Northern California is started to grow on her and is becoming...HOME to her.

I loved the change in her relationship with her younger step brother, David. I have a soft spot for David and his nerdy geeky facts but I really love that he's in on Suze's little secret and understands. I just love this little guy a whole bunch!

Brad cracks me up, him and Suze's relationship is so funny to witness. Brad thinks he's all rough and tough and I totally think that Suze can kick his ass!

HA!

Jake, goodness, I want that boy to hurry up and get his Camaro so that he can get back to having a life. He's a handsome boy, he needs to start living it before a ghost comes and gets him and there goes his life. I really like him though, he's funny and he's good to Suze.

The parents are cool and it was cool to see Andy get all pissed off at Suze and yell and hollar at her the same way he'd yell and hollar at the boys.

They're a family, YAY!

I liked getting to know Tad and his crazy family and his Uncle? Holy wow, I wonder if he'll make an appearance later on in the series...hey, it could happen.

Anyway, this story was really good, I enjoyed the storyline, the interactions with all of the characters and it's made me look forward to a whole lot more from these guys. I'm really enjoying this reading experience and can't wait to start on the next book...tonight.

Great read for sure!

Shadowland by Meg Cabot.

2007-04-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

Heroine: Susannah "Suze" Simon
Category: Young Adult
Grade: B+

Suze is a mediator -- a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won't leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn't seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it's not that easy. There's a ghost with revenge on her mind ... and Suze happens to be in the way.

Meg Cabot strikes again!

A big thank you to Dance Chica for pimping this series to me a few months ago. I'm finally reading them and am super stoked about it. This was a great way to start out the Mediator series, it was great getting to know Suz and her new family.

You see, Suze's Dad dies and a few years later, her Mom remarries a guy named Andy from Northern California. He comes with 3 sons and his own construction business so it would be easier for Suze and her Mom to relocate themselves instead of having the Ackermans move to New York. Suze moves to California to make her Mom happy and she thinks that she can start fresh.

Because, you see, Suz has a gift.

She can see and talk to dead people.

She's a Mediator.

This story introduces a great cast of characters from Suz to her Mom, her new Step Dad Andy who seems pretty cool so far, her 3 step brothers, Sleepy, Dopey and Doc. I enjoyed meeting Adam McTavish, CeeCee and Father Dominic and holy wow, Izzy, how funny is it that Suz goes to get this, Father Junipero Serra's Mission School?

HA! We were just talking about Missions and Father Junipero just the other day.

But this was a great book! I loved it and I loved getting this little glimpse into a Mediator's world. I loved the little world that Meg Cabot created with Suz, Suz is one kick ass little girl and when she put Debbie Mancuso in her place that first day of school, I was laughing at the same time I was rootin' her on.

One thing I really enjoyed was her friendship and crush on her roommate ghost, Jesse.

Jesse is a fox and I cannot wait to find out more about him and his life. The mystery behind Jesse is a huge part of why I want to continue this series. I'm anxious and eager to see where the next adventure takes Suz but mostly I want to see her world unfurl before me.

I want to see if Adam and CeeCee ever get together, I want to see if David really is using steriods (yeah I know it's highly doubtful but I want to know for sure), I want to see what Sleepy does that makes him so tired and I even want to see if we see anymore of Bryce now that he's going to another school.

This book opens a door of great adventure and loads of laughs, I cannot wait to read the others!

A great read!

Guest Blogger: Rene Lyons

2007-04-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

Rene Lyons has agreed to guest blog here at SF on Monday, April 16th, so be sure to stop by. She has something extra special planned for us, and I'm really excited about it.

Professional Wrestler Andy Douglas has agreed to guest blog with her. As you may or may not know, her newest Templar Vampire book, Temping Darkness, is now available in eBook format from Samhain Publishing. Andy Douglas graciously agreed to model for the cover, and Rene has been over the moon about it.

Go buy your copy from My Bookstore and More and then come back Monday and see what Rene and Andy have in store for us.

Hugs,
Holly (and the rest at SF)

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

2007-04-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hero: Valek
Heroine: Yelena Zaltana
Category: Paranormal
Grade: B++

You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster . . .

With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways -- and her newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better . . .

Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training -- especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince -- and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.

If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies...

MAJOR SPOILERS IN REVIEW, DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ANY SPOILERS...YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
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Wow.

I zipped right through this book, it was so good.

I zipped from the beginning to the end, loving this book with every word that I read. Maria V. Snyder sure knows how to tell a story. She had me so engrossed in this story that I thought about the book when I was away from it, wondering what Yelena was going to get herself into when I was able to read again.

By page 200, though I was enjoying the new characters and enjoying learning more about Yelena and her background, I was missing Valek horribly. I even bitched at Holly for lying about there being more Valek in this book but then I kept reading and I got more excited.

I'm a reader who loves to revisit with old friends from previous books and Mrs. Snyder doesn't disappoint in this book. I loved seeing the Commander, Ari and Janco and most of all, I LOVED seeing Valek again. Seeing Valek in action and just being the amazing chamelion that he is, made the book just all the more great in my opinion.

I love how pure and strong Valek and Yelena's love is. I loved how intune with eachother they are and how fierce they are...together. I mean, apart their love never wavered but together, they are such a force to be reckoned with.

It was fantastic meeting Yelena's long lost family. I loved Perl and Esau, I loved reading about their reunion with their long lost daughter. I loved that they accepted Yelena for who she was and what she became and I loved how Perl wanted to make up for the fourteen years that Yelena was away from them. I loved how she worried Perl was when Yelena had to go and I loved Esau's intense faith in his daughter. I loved how instead of trying to keep her from the things she needed to do, they accepted that she had to do these things and even helped her with her mission. I loved how they had faith in her ability to get through all these complicated things and I just loved them.

They were a great family.

And then there was Leif. This guy totally annoyed me a lot throughout the book, with his crap toward Yelena. He was more of a hinderance to Yelena than anything else and that bothered me a lot during this book because I swore this guy was a bad guy...but I was glad that I was proven wrong with him because he proved to be a strong ally at the end with Valek and Yelena so I was glad that he was there to guard their six. haha.

The Master Magicians didn't prove to me that they were all powerful since Yelena was supposed to be no match to their all greatness and yet she singlehandedly took care of all of the problems that Sitia faced.

And she was the outsider.

What's really going on?

I loved all of the other characters that I met in this story, except Rose. I even liked Cahil up until the end, ooh, now I'm hoping that Valek will end him and rid his crap from Sitia and Ixia. I loved Mrs. Snyder's little world she's created with Yelena and Valek, I'm loving all of this magic business and cannot wait to get my hands on Fire Study.

The ride is not done and I'm so anxious to continue the ride in Fire Study. A total two thumbs up, get this book and read it, you'll love it!

What Have You Read?

2007-04-09T13:24:00.001-07:00

I saw this ages ago on Emily's blog but completely forgot about it until today.

Look at the list of books below: *Bold the ones you’ve read* Italicize the ones you want to read* Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in. If you are reading this (and haven't participated yet), tag, you’re it!

1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling) (huh? Philosopher's stone? I've never heard of that...have i?)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18 The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44.The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58.The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy) (It took forFREAKINGEver, too)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96.The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

60/100
Not too bad, considering. Of course, I have a weakness for the classics.

What about you?

PS. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

2007-04-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

A novel about holding on, letting go, and learning to love again.

Now in paperback, the endearing novel that captured readers' hearts and introduced a fresh new voice in women's fiction — Cecelia Ahern.

Holly couldn't live without her husband Gerry, until the day she had to. They were the kind of young couple who could finish each other's sentences. When Gerry succumbs to a terminal illness and dies, 30-year-old Holly is set adrift, unable to pick up the pieces. But with the help of a series of letters her husband left her before he died and a little nudging from an eccentric assortment of family and friends, she learns to laugh, overcome her fears, and discover a world she never knew existed.

Grace did a really good review of the book here.

The Plot: Holly receives letters, one for each month, instructing her of tasks she must complete each month. Turns out, before her hubby passed away, he wrote these letters. Some are silly, like singing karaoke or buying a bedside lamp. Some are sad, like getting rid of his personal belongings. But they have a purpose, to help Holly move on with her life.

Gerry, the hubby, calls it the list of things to do. It started off as a joke. Holly and Gerry "fight" over who should turn off the bedroom light. Gerry jokes asking, "What will you do when I'm gone." She replies saying her new husband will do it. It's then Gerry says he's going to make her a list of things to do/not to do. #1 being, turn off the light. #2, watch out for the bed post. (because the light is now off and she can't see as she makes her way back to bed.)

We watch Holly do her best to move on with her life. She has her good days and she has her bad. When her best friend, Denise announces she's getting married and her other best friend Shannon, announce she's pregnant on the same day, Holly is genuinely happy for them. But she has those feelings of loneliness, hurt and being left behind.

I really liked this book. It made me laugh, it made me sad, and it made me misty eyed. It made me think what would I do in Holly's shoes. I finished this book in one day cause I had to know what Gerry's tasks were for Holly to complete.

I've heard this is going to be made into a movie starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. Gerard Butler, yummy. Hilary Swank as Holly though. Meh... Can't picture it.

Grade: B+

Into the Storm by Suzanne Brockmann.

2007-04-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hero: Mark "Jenk" Jenkins
Heroine: Lindsey Fontaine
Category: Contemporary
Grade: B

In a remote, frozen corner of New Hampshire, a Navy SEAL team and the elite security experts of Troubleshooters Incorporated are going head-to-head as fierce but friendly rivals in a raid-and-rescue training exercise. Despite the frigid winter temperatures, tension smolders between SEAL Petty Officer Mark Jenkins and former cop turned Troubleshooter Lindsey Fontaine after an impulsive night of passion goes awry. And then suddenly Tracy Shapiro, the Troubleshooters' new receptionist, vanishes while playing the role of hostage during a mock rescue operation.

Teaming up with the FBI to launch a manhunt in the treacherous wilderness, Jenk and Lindsey must put aside their feelings as a record snowstorm approaches, dramatically reducing any hope of finding Tracy alive. The trail is colder than the biting New England climate until a lucky break leads to a horrifying discovery - a brutally murdered young woman wearing the jacket Tracy wore when she disappeared. Suddenly there is a chilling certainty that Tracy has fallen prey to a serial killer - one who knows the backwoods terrain and who doesn't play by the rules of engagement.

In a race against time, a raging blizzard, and a cunning opponent, Jenk and Lindsey are put to the ultimate test. Risking everything, they must finally come together in a desperate attempt to save Tracy - and each other.

I'm a straight up Suzanne Brockmann fangirl.

I love this woman for introducing me to some of my most favorite characters, EVAH. Anyone that knows me knows how much I love this series (despite how long it took me to read this latest addition to the series) and I really really loved this book.

I loved getting to know Mark Jenkins, who has only been in the background until now. I thought Lindsey was a kick ass heroine, I didn't think she was a TSTL heroine because she was a cop and she knew when it was okay to do what she had to do in order to get the job done. So yeah, Lindsey rocked my socks in that aspect but she was a real stupid head when it came to her love life.

I wanted to slap her upside her head so many times when she would push Jenk away and say stupid things to throw Jenk off her scent (which was clearly smelling like, DO ME NOW JENKY BOY! instead of the thanks for the great sex but I'm over you scent she THOUGHT she was sending out) and it pissed me off at first when Jenk just sort of walked away from her with his tail between his legs. It made me think, 'Where are the Sam Starretts and the Wildcard's of this series when they were assholes right back to their women because at least when they were assholes, they weren't whining like little panty boys over stupid girls.

Not that I thought Jenk was a whiny baby or anything, it was just...wow was he way different from Tom, Johnny and Sam them...he was so junior high compared to their college level of hotness. I felt older compared to Jenk when reading this book because of his whole situation, the whole crush/love thing he had for Tracy and then the whole I want Lindsey thing too...it was all just so childish to me.

But it didn't ruin the book for me, and this is where I don't know if Suz does this on purpose or what but she tends to highlight and make the secondary characters overshadow the sexiness of the main characters in these books.

Because in this book, it was ALL about Izzy Zanella for me.

I just love me some Izzy and I love his smart ass mouth and his sense of humor (which I totally got, each.and.every.single.time.) I loved HIM. And regardless of what you said, Ames, I want Izzy to end up with Tracy. She's his Lys. He's Sam and he's the new secondary character that I just can't get enough of. Izzy was the one that made me love the book and not think it to be a lame junior high, something that my niece Chelsea would call me after school and tell me all about. This guy liked this girl but liked this other girl too and he wanted to be with that girl and when he was the other girl who doesn't even love him called him to come help her and he took off running and blah blah blah.

Wow, what a way to set up Izzy's book though, man, that was the ish. I just effing loved it. What I loved most about this book was that EVERYONE was in it. I mean, not front and center, no, that was all Jenk and Lindsey and the people in Jenk's world, the world that we don't get to see because Sam, Johnny and Wildcard don't run in the same circles as them but even though they weren't front and center for this book (which I think Jenk should thank Suz for because they would have outshined Jenk for sure) I loved that they were still apart of the book, I loved that even Muldoon who only gets passing comments wasn't left out of this book.

I just loved seeing the crew again, back together again and ridding the world of the scum we all hate.

It was a great book, with the secondary characters picking up the slack for the front runners, Jenk was a good hero but that's about all it was for me, he was just good, he wasn't this hot shot YUMMY hero, but just your standard swoonworthy hero who was sensitive and the "good guy" instead of the Billy Bad Ass that all the women want to jump through hurdles to love and be loved by him in return.

It was a great read and I look forward to more from Suz on this series..but I'm hella looking forward to, Izzy's book and his heroine had better be, Tracy friggin' Shapiro.

Don't Look Now, But They're Out To Get You

2007-04-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

I was out of town last week, so I missed the big blow up in Bloglandia about Meanie Reviewers and Authors Who Bitch About Them.

I addressed this some time ago, but a new thought recently popped into my head about this.

What exactly will bitching about this accomplish?

Are reviewers suddenly going to love your book?

Are they suddenly going to stop saying snarky things about books?

Somehow, I seriously doubt it.

Why bitch and moan then? All you do is turn yourself into a lamb to be slaughtered.

So...I have to ask myself, why would someone bring it up?

If I had to guess.....

Publicity

Wondering how I came up with that?

How many people didn't know *insert person complaining about Mean Reviewers here* name before she posted about how mean reviews are? And how many know it now?

And in a few months, chances are no one will remember exactly WHY we know the name
but we'll remember we heard it and maybe pick up a book because of it, right? I know this has happened to me in the past. I'll see a book on the shelf at my local store and think, "Hey! I remember that name." Then I pick up the book and read the blurb. Then, if it interests me, I buy it. But just because I remembered the name doesn't mean I remember WHY the name was mentioned. Maybe it was a review that got 5 stars. Or maybe she has a personal blog and wrote an article you found compelling. Or maybe she was one of those whiny baby types who complained non-stop about the "Mean Girls" of the world. Who can keep all these things straight, anyway?

Ehem.

In any case, what ends up happening is the name sticks in our minds (Or mine, anyway) even if the reasoning behind it doesn't. And the end result is....SHE WINS.

I'm telling you, it's all a big conspiracy.

Creepy, eh?

April's Hero of the Month: Edward Cullen.

2007-04-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

This is a couple of days late but it's all good, better late then never, right? It's been quite a while since I've put up a new Hero of the Week and really its because I don't have as much time to blog as I did before and so because I so missed having our Hero of the Week posts, I have decided on not nixing the whole idea permanently, but making it easier on myself to do a Hero of the Month, instead of a Hero of the Week...that way, we all get what we want and I get more work done at work. LOL.

So with that said, this month we're kicking off our Hero of the Month with one of the heroes that became an instant hit in the Young Adult world. And an instant I WANT HIM IN MY BED EVEN THOUGH HE'S LIKE 17 FOR THE 200TH TIME for me.

Yeah, he's that good.

Edward Cullen of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight fame is definitely one of those heroes that you'd fight your best friend for.

I'm totally ready and willing to square up with both Izzy and Holly to lay claim to this hunk of juicy goodness.

Why do we all love him so? Let me count the ways....

When we first meet, Edward Cullen, he's got this intense disklike for the book's heroine, Bella Swan and we're all dying to find out why. You can feel just how intensely he feels and just how passionate a person he is by reading the first few scenes with him in it.

That scene where Bella walks into the cafeteria and her gaze drifts over to the mysterious bunch in the corner? The pale skinned group that keep to themselves and are just about the prettiest group of people she'd ever seen in her life...and then just Edward's reaction to her nearness sets off all kinds of warning bells in your head, wondering what's going through his mind to cause such intense feelings toward someone he doesn't even know.

And then trying to catch those glimpses of Edward throughout the rest of the book, loving when his presence is made known on the pages and has you just gobbling up the pages for more of...Edward's greatness. There are so many quotes and so many scenes that showcase all of Edward's swoonworthiness but you'll have to read the books in order to see for yourself, I will tease you guys with this little tid bit...

"You are the most important thing to me now. The most important thing to me ever."

"You are my life now" he answered simply.

When he said that, my heart about melted right out of my insides and settled in a puddle right around my ankles. It was good...really good.

But that's only part of why we love him so much, we love how he was a constant champion to Bella. Bella was always finding herself in situations where she was either fainting, almost getting run over by another schoolmate and getting lost in a darkened neighborhood and it was just so sweet how Edward was always there, listening and waiting in the cut to be her Knight in Shining Armor.

He knew that it wasn't wise to develop any kind of lasting feelings for Bella and yet he couldn't help himself anymore than she could help herself when she fell like a rock for him. I couldn't help falling in love with him. There are plenty of scenes from both Twilight and New Moon (okay not so many scenes from New Moon since he wasn't really in this book a lot) that are totally Edward swoonworthy and instead of making this post longer than necessary, I'm just going to list those scenes and if you want to see for yourself why these scenes are so sweet, you've got to get out there and buy these books. They may not look like it by these short little sentences but trust me, they're GREAT scenes.

Be sure to check out:

-The scene where Bella almost gets runned over by a car but Edward saves her and doesn't even know why he does.

-The scene where Edward rescues Bella from the blood test thing and takes her home.

-The scene where Edward comes to Bella's rescue when she loses her way and is being followed by that group of men. How he shows up out of nowhere and takes her to dinner and doesn't notice that the waitress is already half way in love with him.

-The scene where Bella asks Edward to stay with her....and he does. He watches over her while she's asleep and it was just so friggin' cute.

And last but not least, here is Mr. Cullen in all of his young manly glory...=)

And this is what he would look like, older and sexier and HOTTER! haha.

Enjoy ladies...

Hot Ticket by Various Authors.

2007-04-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a book of short stories that caught my eye on the Doubleday website. I bought it thinking that some short stories about hunky athletes (one of my favorite kind of men) would be just what I need at the time that I bought them. I wasn't all that impressed with some of these stories, I'll tell you that.

Lucky Charm by Julia London
Hero: Parker Price
Heroine: Kelly O'Shay
Grade: C

Uninhibited radio host Kelly O'Shay loves to take on the egos of overpaid sports stars. then she goes after hot-shot shortstop Parker Price, whose losing streak takes an unexpected turn when he goes head-to-head with his lovely nemesis-on the air and off.

This story was a great big ball of corn. I mean, we have a whiny hot baseball player who keeps whining about how the talk show radio host keeps talking about him (badly of course) on the radio and then he blames her for her poor performance on the field? Yeah, how is a whiny baby hero going to make me drool with delight? He didn't. I just didn't really care for the story, it was too short and just really corny.

Same Rink, Next Year by Deirdre Martin
Hero: David Hewson
Heroine: Tierney O'Connor
Grade: C-

I'm not sure what it was about this story that I just couldn't get. It fell flat for me, I couldn't really connect with the characters and I really wanted to because this story had such good potential to be such a cute story but the dialogue felt forced and the witty characters and most especially the talk between the hockey players seemed...silly. I know, that word silly gets me in trouble with rabid fangirls but I can't help it...that's how I saw it, it may work for others but it just didn't work for me. I read the chats between David and his friends as, not good. It didn't flow well with the personalities of the hockey players, it just didn't fit. But David and Tierny were good together, although once while they're getting jiggy, I laughed because well, while they're going at it, he says stuff like, "Better?" and "You like that?" and it totally just takes me right out of the scene...but it wasn't the worst thing I've ever read, it just wasn't the best either. So while the story could have been cute, it just sort of is silly.

You Can't Steal First by Annette Blair
Hero: Juan Santiago
Heroine: Quinn Murdock
Grade: C-

Famous for his big numbers at bat, Juan Santiago's struck out only once in his life--with Quinn Murdock. Now the Red Sox star player is getting one more shot with the sexy sporting goods magnate. But first he has to prove he's not just playing the field.

I don't know what's wrong with me but I did not really care for this story either. I mean, Tiago and Quinn are long lost lovers who have this big misunderstanding and go all these years without seeing eachother or talking to each other and then Quinn's friends throw her on his train thats heading for Orlando for Spring Training and on the train, they fall in love again? Hmm, okay, but the dialogue between these two, can it get any cheesier? Tiago didn't have as much game as he thought he did, if he said some of the things to me that he said to Quinn, I would have laughed at him. I didn't get how him and her kissing making it on the front page of the newspaper was funny...it seemed childish and juvenile. I just didn't get this and I didn't feel any kind of connection between Quinn and Tiago, though one thing that was a sure winner for me in this book, was the name Tiago...I like that Latin lover name, it's yummy!

Can't Catch This by Geri Buckley
Hero: Josh Weldon
Heroine: Lindy Hamilton
Grade: D/C-

Lindy Hamilton got her two-timing boyfriend right where it hurts--by stealing his pricey tickets to the Florida Moccasins football game. When she discovers that the really interesting action is in the stands, it proves to be the hottest season opener on record...

Okay, I think this was the worst of all of them. I really wanted to like ONE of the stories a whole lot because I love sports and sports stories like SEP's were such winners for me, but this one fell right on it's face for me. I was bummed because I felt like, ehhh, I can't wait til I'm done with this book so that I can read something else already. The problem that I had with this story was I didn't care for Lindy and Josh fell in love wayyy too fast with her, I didn't see them connect anywhere and yet faster than you snap your fingers, they were in love..it was unbelievable and I just didn't enjoy the interactions between Josh and Lindy. I thought the nephew was cute though, but that's about it. I thought it was really weird that Josh's cousin used Lindy as his lucky charm considering he had never met her or talked to her, it was hooky but whatever...so yeah this story was just blah for me.

The Rest Falls Away by Collen Gleason

2007-04-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

In every generation, a Gardella is called to accept the family legacy of vampire slaying, and this time, Victoria Gardella Grantworth is chosen, on the eve of her debut, to carry the stake. But as she moves between the crush of ballrooms and dangerous, moonlit streets, Victoria's heart is torn between London's most eligible bachelor, the Marquess of Rockley, and her enigmatic ally, Sebastian Vioget. And when she comes face to face with the most powerful vampire in history, Victoria must ultimately make the choice between duty and love.

First of all I want to say, I read TWO books this weekend. Aren't you all proud. This being one of the books I read.

I heard about this book over at Zeek's blog. I almost read it in one sitting. The reason why I didn't cause my house needed cleaning. Damn chores. There are some things that reminded me of Buffy. Victoria wanting a normal life and trying to balance that with slaying. The final scene with her and Phillip. Sigh. The "poofing" once the vampires were staked.

But it's not totally like Buffy. For instance the origin of vampires. I thought it was original. Never heard that theory before. It's a historical and there's not just one slayer at one time. Oh no, there are others out there. And if you choose not to be a venator (slayer), your memory will be wiped clean and you can continue with you merry life.

The plot is Victoria and Max (another venator) must get the Book of Anwarth (sp? I'm too lazy to go upstairs and get the book) before Lilith, the most power vampire on Earth, gets it. If she gets a hold of the book, she can raise a vampire army. Between attending balls and falling in love, Victoria is out hunting vampires and foiling Lilith's plan. And proving she is worth of the Gardella Legacy.

I liked Victoria. She was willing to learn all she could. She wanted to be out there patroling and helping. Sure she had her doubts, but she knew she was fulfilling her destiny. I liked how she wanted to prove she could do the job. Especially to Max. He thinks Victoria is all about shopping, balls and catching a husband. These two have a lot of tension between them. Will something happen between them?

Sebastian. I'm up in the air about him. He owns a pub that vampires and humans can hang out at. Kind of like the bar in the Dark Hunter's book. It's neutral territory. You don't know if Sebastian is a good guy or bad guy. You want to trust him, but he has that bad boy thing going on.

Then Phillip. The man Victoria met when she was 12. The man that waited for her to come out to society to see what kind of woman she became. The man she falls in love with. I liked Philip. And that's all I have to say about that. You have to read it. Again the final scene with him and Victoria.. sigh.

The second book in the series, Rises the Night comes out on June 2, 2007. I'm defiantly picking that up. Thanks Zeek for the book pimp.

Grade: B+

Some Input Please

2007-04-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

**This is a sticky, please scroll down to see our regularly scheduled programming. I'm extending this until Sunday, April 1st because I'll be out of town and won't have time to post before then. Please email me with your responses by then. Thanks!

I won't be updating for awhile because I'll be out of town. Thanks for your patience.

We're in the process of working on a post about Publisher/Editor/Author responsibility, and we could use some help.

The basic tone of my post is: Who's responsible for typos, etc, in the novels we read and why does the standard seem so much lower for ePublishers than it does larger publishing houses. I realize the companies are smaller, but does the quality have to suffer?

So, if you're a Publisher, Agent, Author, Editor or anyone else who has an opinion, please email me at cranberrytarts at gmail dot com or sfinest at gmail dot com (without the spaces). I do not intend this post to become a flame war between editors and authors, which is why I'd like you to email me. Once I have some answers I'll put my post together and if I choose to quote those of you who emailed me, I'll do so anon. That way we can avoid any negative feelings.

If you're from another blog here in Bloglandia, will you please spread the word?

Thanks bunches,

Holly (and the rest at SF)

Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2007-03-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

Hero: Dean Roubillard
Heroine: Blue Bailey
Grade: B++

Chicago Stars quarterback Dean Robillard is the luckiest man in the world. But life in the glory lane has started to pale, and Dean has set off on a trip to figure out what's gone wrong. When he hits a lonely stretch of Colorado highway, he spies something that will shake up his gilded life in ways he can't imagine. A young woman . . . dressed in a beaver suit.

Blue Bailey is on a mission. As for the beaver suit she's wearing . . . Is it her fault that life keeps throwing her curve balls? Witness the expensive black sports car pulling up next to her on the highway and the Greek god stepping out of it.

They're soon heading for his summer home, where their already complicated lives and inconvenient attraction to each other will become entangled with a charismatic but aging rock star; a beautiful, fifty-two-year-old woman trying to make peace with her rock and roll past; an eleven-year-old who desperately needs a family; and a bitter old woman who hates them all.

Natural Born Charmer . . . for anyone who's ever thought about leaving their old life in the dust.

Man but I really enjoyed this book.

Lots of spoilers in my reviews (like you didn't know that) so here's your warning, didn't read the book? Skip this and come back when you read the book...but this is your review (the non NBC readers) THIS BOOK IS REALLY GOOD, GET IT AND READ IT FOR SOME GREAT LAUGHS, A CUTE LOVE STORY AND FANTASTIC SECONDARY CHARACTERS, SEP REALLY SHINES WITH THIS BOOK...

Now, onto the spoiler ridden review for those of us who enjoyed the book...very much.
It was one of those books that I wasn't expecting to like and ended up really liking anyway. The one where you don't think it will hold a candle to the previous book and yet it stood well on it's own without the added bonuses of old characters that you love and can't get enough of.

This book did a great job dragging me in and keeping my attention until the book was done. Susan Elizabeth Phillips weaves a story that made me smile long after I put the book down. It's one of those stories that had just the right amount of sarcastic wit, sparkling characters and that small town charm. SEP did an extraordinary job of Dean's story. I was a bit bummed when I learned that though Annabelle and Heath played little parts in this book, they weren't in a huge bulk of the story, there was only passing remarks on Phoebe and Kevin (LOVE HIM!) but none of that mattered because I met some wonderful new characters that I just loved to death.

This is the same kind of story, studly football star hero and not so great looking but has potential heroine, thrown together for a wild ride. Dean and Blue are no different from the other story but SEP does a great job of giving Dean and Blue their own twist on the same storyline, I didn't mind it one bit. I really enjoyed SEP's wit and her characters.

Dean was the perfect bonehead hero that had me laughing out loud more times than I can count. I loved his sarcastic sense of humor, his Godly looks and his indifference to everyone but Blue. I loved the wall he tried to form around himself concerning his parents. I loved it even more when he manned up where Riley was concerned, because though he didn't want to, he knew that he had to because she was..family. The family he always wanted. For better or for worst, I just loved Dean through his thick headed stubborn self and I loved him even when he was a big time dick, he was just so effing great.

Blue on the other hand was just as fantastic as Dean, in her I don't know how to dress myself, hide my feminine side and sharp wit. Her sassy mouth totally worked for her. I loved her personality, her no bullshit attitude and just everything about her....well except her sense of fashion. That needed a great deal of help and I cheered when she finally got it right. And can I just say that I LOVE the dress on the cover of the book? Is that not the cutest dress? I think so....but anyway, I enjoyed Blue's character and I enjoyed the things she brought to the story, she was a fantastic heroine.

I loved the way Blue and Dean met and how taken with her drama that Dean was. I loved how Dean tells Blue that he's gay and then later shows her how much...he's not. That was a riot and Blue's parting remarks to Dean at their wedding..had me crackin' the hell up, if you want to read the remark, you'll have to read the book (since I don't have the book with me, hehe)

I fell right in love with April Roubillard and Jack Patriot, not to mention Nita Garrison and little Riley Patriot. I loved the journey to being a real family these guys had to go through in order to get it right and when they finally had what they were looking for, it was just great to see. I was glad that Dean came around and things worked out for them in the end. It was oodles of fun.

This was a great book, a great storyline and filled with great characters, a definite read!

Night Secrets by Kat Martin

2007-03-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

They had come from opposite worlds: Brianna, a young woman trapped in a life from which she longs to escape, and Capt. Marcus Delaine, the Earl of Hawksmoor, a man whose heart and soul cannot be touched by anyone. When Brianne stows away on his ship, their lives are filled with passion. But when tragedy strikes, Brianne and Marcus are torn from each other. Traveling to England, Brianne is determined to touch the heart of the embittered man Marcus becomes--even if it means losing him forever.

My first Kat Martin book. Pretty good.

Brianne did bother me in the beginning of the book though. See, she's a tavern wench in her father's tavern. She's sick and tired of working there. So she decides to stowaway on Marcus' ship. She wants to have an adventure and see things. She's discovered though by someone and he takes pity on her. So he keeps her presence a secret. Unfortunalty they encounter rough waters and Brianne is discovered. Marcus is not happy and makes her stay in his chambers. The kind man is punished. Brianne complains it's not fair. Oh well, Marcus says, he didn't follow orders and report her so he must be punished. Brianne is allowed to work in the kichten but decides to sneak down to visit the guy and bring him food. On her way she's almost raped. Marcus rescues her again and this time says she's can't leave the room and she must watch the guy get flogged. She insists she's ok and doesn't want him to be flogged but Marcus doesn't bend. You'd think she'd learn her lesson right? Nope.

They pull into port and Brianne is left behind becuase it's not safe. She decides to walk about the ship thinking she'll be ok. Nope. The guy who was flogged comes back and attempts to kidnap her. She is once again saved. See, annoying. After Marcus rescues her, again, he comforts her and they do the nasty.

When they head back home, Brianne tells Marcus she understands that she won't see him for a long time and promises if she's preggers, she'll write. Then it's Marcus' turn to be annoying.

While at sea there is a really bad storm and Marcus is hurt. Really hurt, like he could never walk again hurt. He's taken back home to England. Someone sails back to Brianne to tell her what happened and she sails to England. She wants to be with Marcus. Of course, Marcus being man, yells at her to leave but secretly hopes she'll stay. Brianne is then told the doctor had said it's possible that Marcus could learn to walk again.

Will he? Will he pull through?

All in all, a good story. It wasn't great but it was enough to make me want to read more.

Grade: C+/B- (cause they both got on my nerves sometimes)

Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2007-03-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

Grade: B

Chicago Stars quarterback Dean Robillard is the luckiest man in the world. But life in the glory lane has started to pale, and Dean has set off on a trip to figure out what's gone wrong. When he hits a lonely stretch of Colorado highway, he spies something that will shake up his gilded life in ways he can't imagine. A young woman . . . dressed in a beaver suit.

Blue Bailey is on a mission. As for the beaver suit she's wearing . . . Is it her fault that life keeps throwing her curve balls? Witness the expensive black sports car pulling up next to her on the highway and the Greek god stepping out of it.

They're soon heading for his summer home, where their already complicated lives and inconvenient attraction to each other will become entangled with a charismatic but aging rock star; a beautiful, fifty-two-year-old woman trying to make peace with her rock and roll past; an eleven-year-old who desperately needs a family; and a bitter old woman who hates them all.

Natural Born Charmer . . . for anyone who's ever thought about leaving their old life in the dust.

I read this a while ago, well maybe a week or more, but just haven't gotten to review it yet. Sorry. But I'm here now. And it sure wasn't because the book was lacking. Cause I really liked the book.

Blue, yes that is really her name, is stomping down the highway on her way to kick some ass when a gorgeous man stops and offers her help. Even if he is laughing at her as he does so. And so starts another amusing, heart pulling, warm, laugh out loud novel from Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Dean is feeling out of sorts and if picking up a pissed off woman dressed as a beaver will put off him having to do a self evaluation on his feelings then that's fine with him. But as one thing leads to another Dean finds himself dealing with things he's spent his whole life purposely not dealing with. Like who his father is. What his mother did to him. The fact that he has a little sister that he's never met.

But as that very sister seeks him out looking for help his world starts to unravel. And oddly enough the only constant that he has is Blue, the crazy, speak your mind, poke your nose in others business, badly dressed woman he picked up on the highway. The woman that although she won't admit it needs him and his help just as badly. The woman that never stays anywhere long enough to grow roots, and fears any type of a real relationship.

So read on and find a cocky woman and man that just may be very wrong for each other at first glance but can't seem to stay away at the same time. A bitchy old woman that seems horrible at first buy just might be a little lonely. And a father and mother that haven't' seen each other in 30 odd years, may have done a horrible job parenting but really really want another chance. And a little girl that helps pull everything together.

I really did like this book. I know this review may not be giving it justice. You know with me being all rusty since I haven't posted a review in FOREVER! lol. But it was a great read. It had me laughing, and it had my heart aching. The one thing that I will tell you I didn't like was the way the ending was brought on. You know what I mean? The ending was fine, but the events leading up to I didn't like. I didn't' like what Dean did, how he went about what he did. And .... Oh hell just go read the book. lol. It's a great read. You won't be disappointed. Although I am glad I got it from the library, I'll buy the pb when it comes out.

Oh and you don't see much of any of the other characters so I'll let you know now. Don't be disappointed on that front.

I've Butchered Butch's Sex Appeal for my Friends

2007-03-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

My friend loaned me Lover Revealed today. It'll take me me a while to read it cause I have a tons of books I want to read but to tell you the truth, I'm afraid. I'm afraid to read this book. Why you ask. I'll tell you.

When I read the first book in the BDB my impression of Butch was a burnt out cop and the image of a burnt cop (in my mind) well... is this:

Yup Dennis Franz. I can not shake that image. And to read Butch's book means imagining Dennis Franz the whole way through. I don't really want to picture that. Especially when it comes to the love scenes. The lovely Ames was kind of enough to burn this image in my head:

Yes, that is Dennis Franz. Naked. On the beach. I've tried picturing different men as Butch, such as the Horatio on CSI:Miami, Grissom from CSI: Vegas. Doesn't work, my mind once again turns to Dennis Franz.

I'm proud to say that I've ruined the image of Butch for 3 of my friends so far. If I have to suffer, so does everyone else. For the most part, I imagine nameless men and women but to my preference. Example: If the man has a mustache or beard, I imagine him without. Unless he's a highlander or a native amercian, long hair is a no no. The are only a few characters where I've had a certain actor in mind. Tom Paloetti from Suzanne Brockman's Troubleshooter series is Bruce Willis. Theo Buchannan from Julie Garwood's Mercy is Vin Disel.

I'll probably end up reading this book with the image of Dennis Franz burned in my mind. I'm a nosey gal and want to know what's going on in the series. But I'm wondering, when reading a book, do you imagine certain actors/actressess? Did I ruin your image of Butch? Who do you imagine as Butch?

Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

2007-03-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hero: Heath Champion
Heroine: Annabelle Granger
Category: Contemporary
Grade: B+

In This Heart of Mine, you met Kevin Tucker. Now meet Kevin's shark of an agent ... and Annabelle Granger, the girl least likely to succeed.

Annabelle is tired of being the lone failure in a family of overachievers. She's endured dead-end jobs and a broken engagement. But that's going to change now that she's taken over her late grandmother's matchmaking business. All Annabelle has to do is land the Windy City's hottest bachelor as her client, and she'll be the most sought-after matchmaker in town.

With his money-green eyes and calculated charm, Heath Champion is the best sports agent in the country. He's wealthy, driven, and gorgeous, so why does he need a matchmaker, especially a red-haired screw-up like Annabelle Granger? True, she's entertaining, and she does have a certain quirky appeal. But Heath is searching for the ultimate symbol of his success—the perfect wife. And to make an extraordinary match, he needs an extraordinary matchmaker, right?

If Annabelle isn't careful, she just might find herself going heart-to-heart with the toughest negotiator in town -- a man who's beginning to ask himself ... exactly how perfect does perfect have to be?

I really liked this book.

It starts out with us meeting Annabelle Granger, a firecracker of a woman who is frowned upon in her family. She's the "black cat" of her family. She's got 2 successful brothers and a mother who nags the ever living daylights out of her because she's 31 and hasn't settled down into a career. Annabelle's had a few businesses that have gone under and she's trying to turn her grandmother's matchmaking business around and make something of herself. She's very passionate about life and just reading about her attacking the venture of making a success out of her grandmother's business, modernizing it and everything was just a crack up.

She was a very quirky heroine and she kept me laughing and just feeling for her. I loved her sense of humor, I loved all of her little gripes against Heath and what I most liked about her was the way she handled being handled by him.

The chemistry between Heath and Annabelle is unmistakeable to the reader, even if it was farthest from Heath's mind. I loved the way SEP wrote these two's relationship. I loved how at the very beginning they were so at ease with eachother, the scene where Heath makes her ride with him somewhere and she thinks he's gonna leave her and she's running through traffic hollaring for him to wait and she's got her Mocha frap and how he just kept taking it from her and drinking it, the SECOND time he met with her...I loved that kind of business.

I liked seeing the old characters from the previous books actually having reasons to be in the story and not just talked about. Those are some of my favorite characters and to see them back in action right along with Heath and Annabelle scored major points with me.

I loved revisiting the campground from This Heart of Mine. I loved seeing Kevin (my favorite SEP hero) and Molly again and more over, I loved seeing little Hannah again. Goodness, that little girl is just about my favorite kid character ever, she's so great!

Heath Champion, there were times when I wanted to take him by the shoulders and just hold him still for a minute, he so reminded me of Jerry Maguire in that, I move faster than my feet can take me and I'm eager to please all of my clients to the point where I am in dire need of therapy way. The transformation from first class jerk to the insecure manly sexy man at the end was great. I loved seeing him grow attached to Annabelle, it was a treat to see him all wanting to make things right Annabelle.

I even loved little Pippy...she was so cute with her phone fettish...with her Heath's phone fettish. haha.

Annabelle's family got on my hot damn nerves so I was really happy that Heath came into her life and became her Champion...even if he didn't see her family the same way she did. I loved that finally, Annabelle was one up on Candace that conniving little bitch.

The way the story was told had me reading early into the morning, I didn't get to sleep until 3:00am on the dot and I can't say that I'm mad about it. The only thing that didn't boost this book to an A is that I felt the end was sort of rushed and kinda fell flat with Heath's realization of his love for Annabelle, I wanted more from that but as a whole, this book was a really great read for me.

Thanks SEP!

Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas.

2007-03-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

*I don't think I could do this book review without spoilers so if you read this review, be prepared for lots and lots of spoilers, if you don't want to read them, please skip this review and come back to read it when you've read the book, this book was a sure winner in my book but I'm so damned excited about this review that I probably WILL spoil it for you so this is your warning.*

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Hero: Hardy Cates, Gage Travis
Heroine: Liberty Jones
Grade: A

SHE'S FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS

Liberty Jones has dreams and determination that will take her far away from Welcome, Texas - if she can keep her wild heart from ruling her mind. Hardy Cates sees Liberty as completely off-limits. His own ambitions are bigger than Welcome, and Liberty Jones is a complication he doesn't need. But something magical and potent draws them to each other, in a dangerous attraction that is stronger than both of them.

HE'S THE ONE MAN SHE CAN'T HAVE

When Hardy leaves town to pursue his plans, Liberty finds herself alone with a young sister to raise. Soon Liberty finds herself under the spell of a billionaire tycoon - a Sugar Daddy, one might say. But the relationship goes deeper than people think, and Liberty begins to discover secrets about her own family's past.

WILL THEY FIND THEIR HEARTS' DESIRES OR WILL HEARTBREAK TEAR THEM APART?

Two men. One woman. A choice that can make her or break her. A woman you'll root for every step of the way. A love story you'll never forget.

This book gets a whopping WHOA DANG and a THASS WASSUP! from me.

Lisa Kleypas knocks this one right out of the park. A total grand slam that had me sighing with all the goodness one could hope to find in a book. As a first contemporary, I think she did a fantabulous job with this book.

Liberty Jones was a heroine to admire, befriend and love because of everything she went through and everything she lived through. The determination that was piled into this young woman was an honor that I quite liked...very much. To see Liberty Jones grow up before my eyes in this book was a delightful journey that had me rootin' her on from the very beginning. Her love and drive for her younger sister, Carrington was enough to seal my love of this story from the moment little Carrington came into the story. To see the fierce bond between the sisters is something that I found quite charming. I loved reading about Liberty's struggles and her triumphs and just everything she went through to grow into the shoes she was wearing at the very beginning.

She totally rocked!

Lisa Kleypas did an extraordinary job of making me fall in love with two totally different men. I don't think I've ever fully loved two heroes in a book as much as I did Hardy and Gage. I mean, I haven't read many other books where there were two heroes but I know that in all of the books that I read with two heroes, I loved one more than the other right from the very first. That wasn't the case in this book.

In Liberty's youth, she falls in love with Hardy Cates and if you ask me, it wasn't hard to fall in love with the boy who took such good care of you. The one that helped you get over your fear of the mean growling pitbulls, the one who taught you how to perfect your basketball skills so you wouldn't get teased mercillessly at school about it, the guy who drove your pregnant mother to the hospital to have your little sister, the one who cared enough to help you with your baby sister when you were babysitting and fretting about a school test that you needed to pass but couldn't study for because the baby was being fussy, the one who cancelled a date to help you study for the test you want. The one who felt just as passionately about you as you did for him but couldn't be with you because you were too young.

The one who wanted so much more than the town of Welcome, Texas could ever give him, the one who had nothing to offer you but wanted so much to offer something.

It wasn't hard to fall for Hardy and his determination to get out of Welcome and make something of himself, to get out before he turned into the Father he never wanted to be.

When Hardy left town, I had my fingers crossed that he would find himself and come back for Liberty and Carrington. Make them a family, I wanted that so much that I was giddy to read on and see what would happen between Hardy and Liberty.

But then I met Gage Travis.

He was so different from Hardy and yet had the same steely strength that I loved so much in Hardy Cates. Seeing Liberty come out of her shell the way she did with Gage, mainly because it was so unexpected (okay not really but still, for Liberty it was) and their romance was slow to ignite, I fell hard for Gage.

It was amazing how Lisa Kleypas had the ability to make me feel Liberty's indecision when faced with both of the men she's loved all of her life. She's had many men come and go in her life but her heart had only been touched by two.

Hardy and Gage.

Her indecision was just as hard on me as it was for Liberty because like Liberty, I was torn between the two men.

Her choice at the end was great, I was totally happy with her decision because when you look back, it was the right choice for her. It was the right choice for who she was and the person she became. I loved that she loved her chosen man with all that she was and that the hardness we all went through (me, her and the men, LOL) was necessary because it made her appreciate and love the man she chose with nothing holding her back. There wasn't an elephant in the room when the decision was made, everything she went through took part in the way the book ended and I couldn't have been happier.

Though, I was a bit disappointed in one of the men, it didn't change how I felt about the story as a whole. This was a sure winner and I couldn't have been happier with a book. I loved how the characters came to life for me and I loved how much I felt where all of the characters were concerned. When one of them hurt, I hurt and when one of them was happy, I rejoiced in their happiness. I loved how all of the i's were dotted and all of the t's were crossed. There wasn't anything left hanging and I'm so glad, because it made me enjoy the book all the more.

Great great book!

A definite read!

Thanks Lisa for a great read!

The Kitten Club by Dara Edmondson

2007-03-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

When forty-year-old salon owner Kitty Murphy meets dashing entrepreneur Harrison Wentworth, III she’s instantly drawn to his powerful presence. Kitty fights the intense attraction, fearing Harrison’s motive is to woo her precious salon away from her. But losing her salon isn’t the only problem on Kitty’s horizon. She worries constantly about Josh, her drug-addicted son.
College student Brooke Barnes discovers she’s carrying Josh’s baby. Can she save him in time to be a father to their child?

Before I get into my review, can I just say: Dara Edmondson really knows how to grip a reader. This is my second novel by her, and both of them totally grabbed me right in the beginning. Fabulous.

I've been having a hard time writing this review. Not because I didn't enjoy the book, but because I did.

I think, once again, I judged a book by it's cover. The Kitten Club seems like a sort of light, fluffy book, just based on the blurb and the cover. But it's actually a very deep, emotional read.

The struggles Kitty faces are very real and very deep.

Ms. Edmondson takes us on a journey of self-discovery. Kitty is a single mom. She finds out her son has a drug problem and questions herself: Did she make the right choices while raising him? Could she have done better? If he'd had a father in his life would he have turned out different? That's something all mothers wonder as their children grow and especially single mothers. I felt totally connected to Kitty in that respect.

Watching Kitty struggle to do the right thing by her son and for herself was interesting to read about. At times it was hard, because she had to face some hard truths about the kind of person her son had become. Once Brooke, Josh's girlfriend, becomes pregnant, Kitty's struggles become even more pronounced. But having Harrison there really helped her along, I think. And watching a strong man do what needed to be done to help both Kitty and Brooke melted my heart.

There were things I disliked about the book, like Brooke deluding herself into thinking Josh didn't have a problem, even after he stole her money, jewelry and car. Not to mention her rushing off to find him one of the many times he disappeared on a binge.

I'm on the fence about the way Kitty handled Josh's issues and her attraction to Harrison. For most of the book she's convinced that Harrison is in the mob and the only reason he's with her is to get her salon away from her. I understand part of that, because Harrison's father and grandfather were kind of unsavory characters and because Josh's father was a rich guy who was just playing around with Kitty and left her as soon as she turned up pregnant.

But Harrison did everything he could to show Kitty he cared about her. I think she almost went too far in pushing him away. Not quite, but close.

The thing is, despite my issues, I really liked the characters. They were real. Kitty's actions and reactions were just what I imagine a mom's would be in that situation.

Something that really bothered me, though, was why Brooke was ever with Josh to begin with. She seemed like a nice, sweet girl who was really down-to-Earth and had her stuff together. So why, then, would she end up with someone like Josh. This is actually something Ms. Edmondson addressed but something I still don't feel was cleared up. Harrison says something to Kitty to that effect and she gets very upset with him, but eventually sees things from Harrison's point of view. The question was never really answered, though.

Oh, and I had some issues with all the typos in Compromising Positions. I'm happy to report that there weren't any in this book (well, ok, maybe one or two, but it wasn't over the top). Very nice.

Overall I enjoyed the story. It was so much more emotionally involved that I expected it to be. I think Ms. Edmondson did a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life and showing us the darker side of motherhood, both from Kitty and Brooke.

4.25 out of 5

One last thing: I don't think the title, The Kitten Club, or the cover properly do this book justice. I expected a lighter read based on those two things. Just my opinion.

The Dream Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

2007-03-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

Hero: Arikos
Heroine: Megeara Kafiero
Grade: B-

In the ethereal world of dreams, there are champions who fight to protect the dreamer and there are demons who prey on them...

Arik is such a predator. Condemned by the gods to live eternity without emotions, Arik can only feel when he's in the dreams of others. For thousands of years, he's drifted through the human unconscious, searching for sensation. Now he's finally found a dreamer whose vivid mind can fill his emptiness.

Dr. Megeara Kafieri watched her father ruin himself and his reputation as he searched to prove Atlantis was real. Her deathbed promise to him to salvage his reputation has now brought her to Greece where she intends to prove once and for all that the fabled island is right where her father said it was. But frustration and bad luck dog her every step. Especially the day they find a stranger floating in the sea. His is a face she's seen many times.... in her dreams.

What she doesn't know is that Arik holds more than the ancient secrets that can help her find the mythical isle of Atlantis. He has made a pact with the god Hades: In exchange for two weeks as a mortal man, he must return to Olympus with a human soul. Megeara's soul.

With a secret society out to ruin her expedition, and mysterious accidents that keep threatening her life, Megeara refuses to quit. She knows she's getting closer to Atlantis and as she does, she stumbles onto the truth of what Arik really is.

For Arik his quest is no longer simple. No human can know of a Dream-Hunter's existence. His dream of being mortal has quickly turned into his own nightmare and the only way to save himself will be to sacrifice the very thing he wanted to be human for. The only question is, will he?

This book was pretty good.

I liked Arikos, I liked getting to know the Dream Hunters, but I've got to say, I didn't like the Dream Hunters better than the Dark Hunters. For me, it's still all about the Dark Hunters but I liked reading and getting to know Arikos, Solin, D'Alerian, M'Ordant and even M'Adoc. Those cats are some interesting fellows. I'm more than a little intrigued by Solin and can only wonder if he's going to get his own book since everyone and their mother seems to be getting their own book these days. I might be persuaded to buy Solin's book should it ever become available. I also need to go back and read D'Alerian's book, he did have one, right?

Megeara, who wanted to be called, Geary (for reasons that are totally beyond me, why not Meg or Ara, but Geary? Yeah, okay...whatever rocks your socks, girl!) was actually a pretty decent heroine. Her story of trying to find Atlantis to clear her father's name and snub all of those people that laughed at her father for his pipe dream to find Atlantis and prove everyone wrong was a pretty good story.

I loved reading about all of the Gods and Goddesses. It was a little funny to read about Hades being this outrageously hunky manly God, when all I can think of is the Hades from Disney's Hercules. He was soooooo not outrageously beautiful, like the Hades of SK's world, but hey I liked that touch. It was cool. I'm hecka loving this twist on the Greek Mythology stuff, it's really good stuff.

I don't remember much about the Dream Hunters from the previous books, so I can't really say that SK messed up on some of her own rules because if she did, I didn't catch any of it in here, but....I did enjoy this book and am glad that I read it.

Would I recommend this book to others? Oh yes, this book was for sure better than Sins of the Night, so yeah....go on and read it, it was good. You'll love you some Arik, I know I did. Geary was easy to read as well, she wasn't a TSTL heroine and I'm glad for it. I loved that it was, well I can't tell you guys that without spoiling the book so if you want to know what I liked most about Geary and this story, then email me and I'll get the talkin' with you on there. I enjoyed this book, it wasn't this dramatic book that made me cry and weep and all that, it was just good stuff.

I thought I would be able to stay away from SK's DH series since I've been so annoyed with the direction she's been taking it in but I was glad that I went against what I wanted to do and read this book, it was good...really good.

Good job, SK.

Twisted Kingdom V. 2

2007-03-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Something very exciting is happening at Twisted Kingdom.

Welcome to Twisted Kingdom v.2! As you know, we are re-inventing this blog to make it better than it was! Lots of new features and reviews coming up! Read about the Re-birth of the blog here.

To help promote V.2, the wonderful ladies over there are hosting some wonderful contests:

To celebrate TK's rebirth, we will have two contests!

Here's how they work:

The first contest is simple and the goal is to spread the word about TK's rebirth! All you have to do is make a short announcement on your blog, myspace or website about TK's rebirth and link back to us using the buttons in the sidebar. Of course, if you can find better ways to let the world know about TK, go for it :D

The dateline for this contest will be March 25th, 11:59pm. Let us know that you have participated by leaving a comment and the url to your blog, myspace or website in this post! Simple, no?

The second contest is a tad more challenging, but probably much more interesting. That is, you have to write a guest review! It can be any book, as long as there is some fantasy or paranormal element. It could be a book you have just recently read or your favorite fantasy/paranormal book and it doesn't matter whether it has been already reviewed at TK or not! So, how to participate? Easy, you write your review following TK's simple guideline (really just a few requests to make all of our reviews uniform) and submit it at thetwistedk@gmail.com by April 15th, 11:59pm. Your review will most likely be post the following Tuesday or Thursday. The more guest reviews you write, the better your chances to win!

For each contest, we will have a draw to determine the winner :) But, what is the grand prize? The winners will be able to choose their own prize: a fantasy/paranormal book written by one of our featured Author of the Month! Since we have not chosen the Author of the Month for the next following months yet, the winners will be given one year to choose!

Easy, simple and you get a free book!

Head on over and help Twisted Kingdom Celebrate!

Overheard by Maya Banks.

2007-03-14T14:46:00.001-07:00

Hero: Luke Forsythe
Heroine: Gracie Evans
Grade: C

Gracie Evans wants a Valentines she won't forget. Luke Forsythe plans to give her exactly what she wants.

Gracie Evans is a woman tired of the men in her life not satisfying her in bed. She's had a string of boyfriends, but none of them have come close to satisfying the vivid fantasies she has. Two weeks before Valentine's Day, she breaks up with her latest boyfriend after a night of lackluster sex.

When her good friend, Luke Forsythe, overhears her talking to their friend Shelly about what she really wants, he's stunned. And very turned on. Gracie thinks there isn't a man alive who can satisfy her in bed. Luke aims to prove her wrong.

Dude, this book is extremely hot and extremely vulgar. I may be new to this erotica business but this was some wicked hot steamy stuff.

Luke and Gracie are in the same circle of friends. They've been friends for like ever and Gracie has just broken up with her latest boyfriend, who just can't satisfy her in between the sheets, so one weekend, their circle of friends are at their friend Michelle's house for a barbeque and Gracie and Michelle are talking in the kitchen and Gracie is enlightening Michelle on what happened between her and her latest break up.

She tells Michelle, in detail what went wrong and what she wants, what she's tired of, then she goes on and tells Michelle a few of her fantasies. Luke, who was sent into the house with a pot of food for the women to do what they wanted with, overhears Gracie talking about all of this and instead of making himself known, he totally eavesdrops on their conversation and realizes that...hey, Gracie is a freaky girl, I'm a freaky guy, I can totally get down with Gracie. He hears Gracie tell Michelle that she thinks there isn't a man alive who can handle her in the bedroom, or keep up with her.

And his eyes are opened to a relationship thats been in front of him all this time. So he does what any hot blooded sexy stud would do.

He proceeds to pursue Gracie and prove to her that there are men out there who can hang with her but none of them will hold a candle to...him.

And prove her wrong, he did. Every fantasy she talked about, he brought to life and one of her fantasies was a threesome with two men.

Who does he ask to be the other man in their threesome? ANOTHER friend in their circle of friends. And he totally agrees. Now if that doesn't change the way of things in your circle of friends, I don't know what will...but these three friends, get down and dirty and while some of it was really hot, a lot of it made me hurt for Gracie. I mean, at one time, she had one in the front of her filling her with ooey gooey heaps of pleasure and then the other was in the back, and well...can you just imagine how much ramming that'd be? I'm sorry if I'm being crude or whatever but goodness, I visibly blanched at the thought because....OUCH!

Overall, this story was just one big horny love fest between two friends. There really wasn't much of a story, just a whole lot of sex and while my horndog ass can appreciate it, it really didn't do much for me.

I enjoyed Haley's Cabin a lot more than this one, but this wasn't exactly horrible...just not enough, I guess. I wanted more storyline and more character development, but it was okay.

Lisa Kleypas is Visiting Sybil Today

2007-03-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Y'all should go check it out. I'm a total Lisa Kleypas fangirl and I can't tell you how excited I am to see her guest blogging at one of my favorite haunts.

I'm still conducting my survey, so any input would be much appreciated. Please don't forget to email any response you might have no later than this Friday, the 16th.

And check back later today for a new review of The Kitten Club by Dara Edmondson. I was very impressed with the book and can't wait to share my thoughts with you.

I hope you're all having a great day!

Holly (and the rest at SF)

Sisters by Danielle Steel

2007-03-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Four sisters, a Manhattan brownstone, and a tumultuous year of loss and courage are at the heart of Danielle Steel’s new novel about a remarkable family, a stunning tragedy -- and what happens when four very different young women come together under one very lively roof.
Candy (it’s the only name she needs ) is blazing her way through Paris, New York, and Tokyo as fashion’s latest international supermodel. . . .

Her sister Tammy has a job producing the most successful hit show on TV, and a home she loves in L.A.’s Hollywood Hills. . . . In New York, oldest sister Sabrina is an ambitious young lawyer, while Annie is an American artist in Florence, living for her art. . . . On one Fourth of July weekend, as they do every year, the four sisters come home to Connecticut for their family’s annual gathering. But before the holiday is over, tragedy strikes and their world is utterly changed.

Suddenly, four sisters who have been fervently pursuing success and their own lives -- on opposite sides of the world -- reunite to share one New York brownstone, to support each other and their father, and to pick up the pieces while one sister struggles to heal her shattered body and soul. Thus begins an unscripted chapter of their lives, as a bustling house is soon filled with eccentric dogs, laughter, tears, friends, men . . . and the kind of honesty and unconditional love only sisters can provide. But as the four women settle in, they are forced to confront the direction of their respective lives. As the year passes and another July Fourth approaches, a season of grief and change gives way to new beginnings -- as a family comes together to share its blessings and a future filled with surprises and, ultimately, hope.

With unerring insight and compassion, Danielle Steel tells a compelling story of four sisters who love and laugh, struggle and triumph . . . and are irrevocably woven into the fabric of each other’s lives. Brilliantly blending humor and heartbreak, she delivers a powerful message about the fragility -- and the wonder -- of life.

Grade: B for over-all story, F for the shit the dad did.

I haven't read a Danielle Steel book in years! Actually the last DS book I read was not really me reading, it was an audio book and it was The Dating Game. It's funny cause DS has a way of making me hate and love a book at the same time. But I won't get into TDG with this post, this is for SISTERS!

Every 4th of July all for Adams girls come home for their parents big party. Along with Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since they are all spread so wide they really cherish this time together and never miss it. But this year disaster strikes it the most horrible way imaginable.

As the worst possible fate hits one of the sisters they all pull together (I'm gonna spoil a little here so beware, but you'd find it out in like the fifth chapter anyway). In a freak car accident the mother of all four girls is killed and the artist sister, Annie, loses her eye sight and is just lucky to have survived at all.

To help Annie, and themselves, cope with this staggering change of life they decide to move in with each other for one year. And face more in this year than they ever imagined.

Candy the supermodel struggles with losing her mother by digressing back to a eating disorder she's had since her first major modeling break. And in the world she lives in it is no wonder she can't find the right man, hell at her age she should be with boys anyway at only 21. And this time her sisters aren't standing back to watch another family member throw their life away.

Annie wasn't sure life was even worth living when she woke up to find out her mother was dead and she was blind. She lived and breathed her art all her life, trained to be an artist. What does she do now? Sure that her life will be nothing but her depending on her family and growing into a spinster she was shocked to find that life can go on. Just in a different way. We follow Annie as she learns the basics all over again, how to cook without burning herself, shower herself, and fall in love all over again.

Tammy loves her job, she's created and produced a show of her dreams and even if she can't find anything but crazies to date she's happy with her life. But after the 4th of July things change. She still loves her job, but really feels she belongs with her sisters in NY not in LA. But what could such a drastic decision do to her career that she's faught so hard for? Could she possibly find a happy life in NY? And possibly love?

Sabrina is a major divorce lawyer in NY City and loves her job. But it's really shaded her view of marriage. The way she looks at is, why mess with what works? She and her boyfriend have been together for 3 years and she's in no rush to change anything. She loves having her space and he his, and when they want being together. But at 34 and Chris 36 he wants more. He wants it all, marriage, kids, and he wants it with the woman he loves, Sabrina. But when the tragedy hits Sabrina takes the biggest load on as the oldest daughter. When Chris says he wants more how will she react? Are her fears of a failed marriage going to keep her from the man she loves?

One of the hardest things for the girls to deal with after their mothers death and Annie's blindness was their father. He was married to the woman he loved for 35 years and they never realized how much she did till he started to fall apart. Hating to leave him but knowing he'd have to learn to live again the girls go to NY leaving him in Connecticut. But when a younger woman, younger than Sabrina, starts to sniff around they tell their dad to watch out. Women will be pounding down his door, he is after all rich and still a handsome catch. He blows them off and his naive worries them. As well it should. When 5 months after their mothers death he drops a bomb on them they are shocked, and don't know if their family can handle it.

I'll tell you now. I really loved this book. I balled my eyes out for about 3 chapters when the accident happened. And it was also full of laughs with the sister living together. It was real life and it touched your heart.

At times it did read a little narrative. Like I was being told the story instead of seeing it unfold. Does that make sense? Well that was only a few times, for the most part it was really great.

The only fault I have with this book was the father. He was so sooooo soooooooo unbelievably stupid in the end. I think it should have been written as he almost making a huge mistake but the girls talking him out of it. But the way it ended? With the dad? I HATED IT! It pissed me off to no end. I know my rant on him is not really making sense but I don't want to spoil to much.

Oh what the hell, I'm gonna spoil it so if you don't want to know stop reading now. You've been warned.

He marries a girl 26 years younger than him! FIVE MONTHS AFTER HIS WIFE DIED! He said age doesn't matter when your in love. And when the girls told him it was disrespectful to their mother so soon and with a practical child he didn't listen. When they pointed out that if Leslie really loved him and cared about him she wouldn't rush it, he didn't listen. He had the freaking nerve to say his wife would want this for him, to not be alone. I am not lying when I tell you I got sick to my stomach reading that part. And when the book ended he was still married to her! None of the girls would go to see them at their house, when they wanted to see their dad they had him (alone) come to their place or meet him somewhere else. Which I'm at least happy about that. At least they didn't give in to the bitch bimbo and welcome her to the family. Especially since she was someone they all thought of as a slut when they were in high school together. Someone that their own mother said was fast and wouldn't allow them to hang out with. Yeah sure your wife would approve of her as her replacement FREAKING MORON!!!!! Okay end of rant.

Honestly, besides the dad part I really enjoyed this book.

Breaking Point by Suzanne Brockmann

2007-03-09T23:00:00.000-08:00

Hero: Max Beghat
Gina: Gina Vitagliano
Category: Contemporary
Grade: B+

As commander of the nation's most elite FBI counterterrorism unit, agent Max Bhagat leads by hard-driving example: pushing himself to the limit and beyond, taking no excuses, and putting absolutely nothing ahead of his work. That includes his deep feelings for Gina Vitagliano, the woman who won his admiration and his heart with her courage under fire. But when the shocking news reaches him that Gina has been killed in a terrorist bombing, nothing can keep Max from making a full investigation - and retribution - his top priority.

At the scene of the attack, however, Max gets an even bigger shock. Gina is still very much alive - but facing a fate even worse than death. Along with Molly Anderson, a fellow overseas relief worker, Gina has fallen into the hands of a killer who is bent on using both women to bait a deadly trap. His quarry? Grady Morant, a.k.a "Jones," a notorious ex-Special Forces operative turned smuggler who made some very deadly enemies in the jungles of Southeast Asia . . . and has been running ever since. But with Molly's life on the line, Jones is willing to forfeit his own to save the woman he loves.

Together with Max's top agent Jules Cassidy as their only backup, the unlikely allies plunge into a global hot zone of violence and corruption to make a deal with the devil. Not even Jones knows which ghosts from his past want him dead. But there's one thing he's sure of - there's very little his bloodthirsty enemies aren't willing to do.

Okay, it took me over four months to finish this book and boy was I glad that I did. So Max and Gina we know from Over the Edge are back and they're getting their own book. Max is still being a butt head about not wanting to keep Gina in his life because even though he loves her with every breath in his body, he's afraid of loving her and well it doesn't make things any better with her being like 20 years younger than he is.

But love her, he does.

In the first half of the book, it drove me up the wall how many times Max tried to drive Gina away. There were times when I wanted to do bodily damage to him at how dumb he was being, but that was when I thought his issues were the age thing between him and Gina.

Well, and then there was the thing with Grady Morant, Dave Jones to those of you guys who have read Out of Control, Molly and Jones were a big part of this book since Molly is Gina's new best friend, they served in a camp out in Kenya together and became very close. Gina laid her life on the line for both Molly and Jones and I just loved their little family.

Max Beghat, the fucker. My friend LindaLou, loves when Sam Starrett says that about Max in I believe it's Out of Control. And I totally agreed with Sam's sentiment toward the FBI Hot Shot in this book. He got on my damn nerves in the beginning of the book, while he was in rehab?? Yeah, I wanted to stab him in the neck. When he didn't share some pertinent information with Gina, forcing her to run away from him??? Yeah, I wanted to gouge his eyes out with a butter knife. But when he finally comes clean about how he really feels for Gina and everything he went through while she was away from him, all of my madness at him faded into the wind because just like *snaps fingers* I was done being mad at him for all of his transgressions in this book. Max proved to be a great hero, one that by the end of the book, I was more than a little bit in lust with. He will never replace Sam Starrett in my heart (especially after the short story in the back of the book) but he's one of the best heroes this series has.

Gina Vitagliano. What a great heroine, I love her sassy mouth, I love how in the most dire of circumstances, she was still able to keep her wit and her smarts about her. For someone who kept getting into hostile terrorist situations, Gina was seriously one of the strongest heroines, EVER. She's also my favorite heroine too...in this series, I haven't been a big fan of any of the heroines because none of them have Gina's personality or her vibrance for life and her determination to land her man. Gina was everything the other women weren't and she seriously was the best heroine, for me at least. She was as Ignacio said in Nacho Libre, good, realllllyyyyyy good. HA!

The story started out a bit slow for me but as soon as it started picking up, it picked up and just kept right on runnin'...I loved it. The storyline was great, the characters were the best and though it would have been nice to see some Sam and Alyssa up in there or even any of the other Troubleshooters, it was still a great read for me.

I loved the secondary storylines with Molly and Jones and then Jules as well. How can you NOT love Jules? I don't know how SB does it but when she writes about Jules and all of his sexy mens, it doesn't bother me. The man love concept doesn't really bother me. I'm so busy cheering Jules on that I guess his sexual orientation doesn't register for me the way it does in other books by other authors. But I just love Jules personality, I love what he brings to these stories and I love him as a man and want him to get his very own book. I want him to find happiness the way all of his friends are finding happiness. He totally deserves it.

Molly and Jones, oh holy wow...I loved how their story ended, it was just the right amount of everything that's right in this world. I loved how SB was able to write their story AND give them their happy ending. I loved Dave Jones shady ass from the moment I met him in Out of Control and I loved him all the more in this book. I loved his fierce devotion and adoration of Molly, I loved how he worried over her and how he was so hot damn sorry for bringing her into his dangerous life even though he didn't want to harm her, I loved how he was so damn sorry that he took a gamble and lost. I just loved him! Their story was a great addition to this already great book.

What I loved most about SB's writing in this book is something that Nikki said in a comment left for me on my personal blog, Coffee House Banter.

She said, "No other author has this way of planning books so far in advance that really works. There is a reason and a purpose for everything. No other series seems that way to me. She really controls circumstances and characters in her books not the other way around. She never gets herself in a corner that she has to come up with a quick explanation (that doesn't make sense)."

I loved how I was able to read something in this book and think, "OMGOSH I remember that" from 4 books ago. It was amazing how well thought out this book was. Things that happened in Out of Control were poppin' up again in this book and everything that didn't fit then, now fit perfectly and totally meshed. I loved that aspect of the book and applaud Suzanne Brockmann on a job well done.

Entertained? Yep, I sure was. Annoyed and Peeved? Yep, you got it, at Max, I sure was. Filled with joy and gooey goods? Oh yes, she totally delivered on this.

Now seriously? You can't ask for a better book, then. The only reason I gave it a B and not an A is because it took me so long to get through this book, but after careful thought, it wasn't the story that made me take so long, it was my frustration at Max...so brava, Suz...great effing job! =)

Haley's Cabin by Anne Rainey

2007-03-07T05:55:00.000-08:00

Hero: Jeremy Pickett
Heroine: Haley Thorne
Pages: 102
Catagory: Erotica, Contemp
Grade: B
Buy: Here

Every good girl longs for a chance to be a little naughty.

Raw from an ugly divorce and wrung out from her demanding job, Haley Thorne needs a break. When Haley’s doctor urges her to take a vacation, she heads to her secret cabin in the woods.

The very first night, Haley dreams of an erotic threesome that leaves her panting and aroused. When sexy police detective Jeremy Pickett shows up at her door, she’s shocked: He looks like the man in her midnight fantasy! Levelheaded Haley unleashes her inner seductress and has a little fun—handcuffs and all!

First of all I need to get a damn e-book reader, the kind you can take with you places! I've had this book for over a week now and just got to finish it cause I had to be home to read it. Uggg!

Anyway, I finished it and really really loved it. Anne did a great job of bringing her characters alive. One of the things I loved most about this story is that although we knew Haley was in an abusive marriage and Jeremy was a Detective that part of the characters wasn't the core of the story. It was a part of Jeremy and Haley but not THEM.

I also am a hard sell for falling in love at first sight, just like Dylan. But I think with the way we were lead into the meeting of Haley and Jeremy made it more believable to me. Hell if I'd had a dream like Haley did and then saw the real thing in front of me I'd fall head over heals real quick.

And with Jeremy I believed it because he knew it was not the norm. He didn't think 'Oh I'm in love, this is so the way it always happens', um no, lol. He knew and that is why he held back some. At one point he even said that she stole his heart in under 24 hours that's got to be a record or something. But at least he didn't deny it, which totally annoys the crap out of me with heroes.

And lets touch on the beginning of the story real quick. You want to see how to grab readers from the very first few pages? READ THIS BOOK! OMG when I did Anne's interview and asked her about her f/f/m sex scene she said she wanted a straight woman to read this and still think it was something sexy and say WOW! And hot damn did I! No freaking lie, it was hot. I wish it were longer. lol.

Something I loved in this book...NO BIG MISUNDERSTANDINGS! Hallelujah, haha. Of course with Haley having been in an abusive marriage and then not dating anyone between him and Jeremy she did misunderstand a little bit when Jeremy would say something or do something but it was never blown up to a big thing. He would read her and correct her right away. The way it would happen in REAL LIFE. lol.

The sex? HOT! I love that they used a video camera and handcuffs! Makes me want to go get some, oh wait I already have the cuffs, naughty me. haha. But really the steam between Haley and Jeremy was enough to have me begging for more. I said it before and I'll say it again Anne Rainey has a definite talent for bringing on the heat, and we weren't let down.

Just like everyone else I am going to say it.....I WANT MORE BRAD AND LISA!!!! Which brings me to one of my favorite parts, the ending. Now I am a big one on good endings. You write a great book but suck and bringing it together and I am going to get all bitchy on your ass.

But Anne did a great job here. She gave us a glimpse of Brads feelings for Lisa then BAM turned it over to a little fun and flirty teasing with Haley and Jeremy to tie up the end.

Just the way it should be, cause while I was reading the part of Jeremy and Brad talking over at Lisa's house and really getting into it I was thinking 'this is great cause now I am all about a Brad and Lisa story but damn I hate when a book doesn't end with something about the hero and heroine' then it did. And I absolutely love the last sentence, but I'll leave that for you to read.

I know your thinking isn't there anything bad. And honestly I'll tell you, while I was reading there were somethings that I did want to address when I did my review. But now that I'm thinking back I really can't place what it was that I wanted to say. Guess that just means that the good outweighted the bad by a lot. lol.

I definitely wish it was longer. But I've never been one for books that are only around 100 or so pages. But for the length of the book I definitely got all I wanted out of it. Great job Anne, and I can't wait for more!

Holly Says: Lover Revealed by JR Ward

2007-03-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world-to engage in the turf war with the lessers. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. And if he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers.

But fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he's found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back, though even her love may not be enough to save him.

Normally when more than one of us here at SF reviews the same book, we just add our thoughts to whatever has already been posted. But Jazzy-girl was a bit long winded, so I just decided to add my thoughts here.

I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but I'm not going to make any promises. Don't forget to check out Jazz's review before you go. We tend to have differing opinions, especially when it comes to the BDB.

Ok, so you already know the basic plot, but let's see if I can recap...

Butch is pretty much feeling sorry for himself all the way around. He has no purpose in life other than to sit around and drink good scotch. Shoot, even the clothes on his back were ones bought by other people. Oh, and he's half stalking a vampire female who doesn't want him, and is way out of his league in any case. Then, his day gets worse.

He's picked up by some Lessers and spends the next 12 hours somewhere far away from happy land. Then the Omega gets involved and dude, what he does to Butch is just..freaky.

Then there's Marissa. She's an aristocrat who hates her life, is controlled by her brother, and knows no one wants her. But then she gets a call that changes all that. She's needed at Butch's bedside. Naturally she rushes right over to take care of him and that's when things get interesting.

The Good: JRW is one of the few authors I've read who can constantly jump around and pull it off. Every other chapter is a new situation, with different characters, but unlike some others, she pulls this off grandly. As a matter of fact, I think her stories would suffer quite a bit if she didn't jump around as much as she does.

John. He was great. I love the bits and pieces we saw of him and I can't wait to read more about him. And I just love being right about him. Just in case y'all haven't figured out where John came from yet, highlight the following text: He's Darius reincarnated...

The Man Love between Butch and V. Now, I was initially going to put this under The Ugly section below, but the truth is, it's kind of hot. I mean, come on, what girl doesn't fantasize about 2 big, strong alpha males going at it like dirty rabbits? Except, I really, really wish all those ~~rabid~~ fans out there would just go ahead and admit that...THEY'RE GAY! Dude.

The Bad: The slang and the designer name dropping. I swear, by the time I finished the book, I wanted to scratch my eyes out. Was it really necessary to tell us what designer each person was wearing? Cripes. Way over the top!

Although the slang got on my nerves, I have to tell you, it didn't bother me as much in this book as it has in her previous ones. I'm not sure if it's because I stopped expecting better, or if it was because she didn't use it as much, but I only rolled my eyes a couple of times. Oh, well, except for that EVERYONE used the slang in this book. Our perfect aristocratic heroine? Yep. The nasty Lesser dudes? Yep. Come on now, at least in the last book JRW gave us a break once in awhile.

I'm not really a Phury fangirl, but why was homeboy so absent in this book? I realize his part wouldn't be as strong as it was in Z~~arek~~'s book, but he was only mentioned like...maybe once? That just seemed kind of strange to me.

The Ugly: Butch. Hello, big fat whiny crybaby. Could you feel any sorrier for yourself? Look, I realize he'd been handed some shit in his life, but in my opinion, a real man bucks up and doesn't whine and cry about it. Suck.It.Up. Plus, his stalker-like obsession with Marissa got a little old, and so did his constant, "I'm not good enough" bull. Not that I don't see where he was coming from, but seriously, he should have outgrown that shit in the first half of the book, at least.

Marissa. Yes, I know she was naive and sheltered her whole life. And I will admit we saw some major growth from her throughout the book, but there was just one misunderstanding too many for my tastes. Even someone as sheltered as Marissa shouldn't have acted as stupid as she did. And the ending? OH.HELL.NO. That stunt she pulled? She in no way made up for what she did to Butch. Especially since she didn't even realize she was wrong on her own, she had to have the other girls tell her so. And she should have begged and pleaded and crawled and...well, you get the idea. So wasn't impressed.

The nice, neat tidy thing that happens to clear everything up for Marissa and Butch's HEA. Come on, could you maybe be a little more creative? ~~Oh, look, it's Sherrilyn Kenyon all over again.~~ I know something had to happen so they could be together 4-ever, but this plot line was just a bit contrived.

I could probably go on and on, but I'll stop there for now. My grade?

Butch/Marissa: 1.5
The rest of the story: 3.0

Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

2007-03-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

Hero: Butch O'Neil
Heroine: Marissa
Pages:455
Category: Paranormal
Grade: Two grades here...The book grade~ B, The ending grade~ C

Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world-to engage in the turf war with the lessers. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. And if he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers.

But fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he's found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back, though even her love may not be enough to save him.

*****SPOILERS ALERT***** It would be really hard for me to review this book and not have spoilers in it so I'm not even going to try to hold back. BEWARE.

First off how freaking excited was I to be the first one to reserve this book at my library? Then how much MORE excited was I when they got it early and I picked it up on thursday! Yeay me! Okay but now to the review....

By the time I read this book it's been what? Six months since Lover Awakened? So I wasn't really fresh on the whole Butch/Marissa thing. I was a little blurry. But that wasn't really a problem, yeah I wanted to remember why they were apart but it didn't hinder the story.

Right off we see Butch suffering from feeling the odd man out. He has a bond with V, and loves Marissa yet he's not a Brother and thinks Marissa has rejected him. None of the clothes he wears are his down to his boxers and the money he spends just as where he lives isn't his either.

When he comes across a civilian about to be attracted by lessers he steps in to help. Needless to say he's in bad shape when V finds him. He was worked over by the for-lesser and the Omega did a job on him.

When he wakes up he finds himself in Havers (Marissa's brother) clinic under quarantine.....with Marissa by his side. With his memory filled with black holes he can't remember what exactly happened to him but he knows Marissa should not be with him, risking her life.

Marissa didn't think twice about racing to Butch when she heard he was hurt. Nor did she even take a second to think of her safety as she burst into his room without the proper coverings on. When she is found with Butch her brother tells her that she may be contaminated and has to stay there till it is found to be safe for them both to leave.

During the time Marissa and Butch are locked together in this room there are a lot of misunderstandings cleared up and a lot more made.

That I can tell you this book was full of.

It's weird cause normally I'll want to throw a book against a wall for all the misunderstandings these two had. But all I had were my eye rolls and a little annoyances, but I still could not put the book down for two seconds.

I think Ward's saving grace is that she chops up her story's so well. She never says on one person or one scene for a long time. So yeah, I don't like reading about the lessers that much (it bores me) but I want to get to B&M that I fly through the short paragraph or two of lessers so fast.

Anyway. We find out that Butch has Vampire in him, surprise surprise. And he is some super powerful tool to be used by the brotherhood. But here are some of my issues. When he goes through his transition he gets bigger, like the other brothers. Now I already thought of Butch as kind of big, now he's so big that Ward wrote his boxers were all tight on him. Now I normally picture boxers kinda loose so for him to get this big I kept getting a picture of the Incredible Hulk with ripped clothes and all in my mind. I know! But I couldn't help it, and it was messing with the story for me. lol.

Then every time he would fight lessers with the brotherhood he didn't seem to fight as good and when he did his thing he was so tired, he seemed kinda weak. I think all around he seemed kinda weak. I don't particularly think someone that would take their life as strong I think that is weak, and he tried that. Early on in the book. But actually I shouldn't go there cause that situation was unique with what happened to him and how he was feeling at the time. So whatever.

The book of course was full of horrible slag but as usual it didn't bother me to the point of not wanting to read it. It was just silly as usual.

The whole V and Butch gay vibes? Definitely here! lol. I mean there were times when V was all kinds of up in Marissa and Butch's private affairs and he was more focused on Butch than Marissa. And I just have to quote this one part for you all, listen to this and tell me there isn't that I-wish-we-could-but-know-it's-not-to-be vibe:

Without thinking, Butch tilted his chin up, aware that he was offering himself, aware that he...oh, fuck. He stopped his thought , completely weirded out by the vibe that had sprung up from God only knew where.
In slow motion Vishous's dark head dropped down and there was a silken brush as his goatee moved against Butch's throat. With delicious precision, V's fangs pressed against the vein punched through skin. Their chests merged.
Butch closed his eyes and absorbed the feel of it all, the warmth of their bodies so close, the way V's hair felt soft on his jaw, the slide of a powerful male arm as it slipped around his waist. On their own accord, Butch's hands left the pegs and came to rest on V's hips, squeezing that hard flesh, bringing them together from head to foot. A tremor went thought one of them. Or maybe...shit, it was more like they both shuddered.
And then is was done. Over with. Never to happen again.
Neither of them looked at the other as V broke away ... and the parting was complete and irrevocable. A path that would not be walked. Ever.

There was also a part when V was saying to himself that he thought of Butch as his. It was almost like he knew he was in love with Butch and knew it was weird cause he never felt that for a male before and knew also that it wouldn't come of anything cause Butch loved Marissa to much so he was just going to deal with it and try to move on. I mean hell I'm all for best guy friends but these two? Definitely more.

But anyway, I really don't care about that much, just wanted to point out IT WAS THERE STILL! LOL.

We read about Butch's past and his dead sister, also his sister that is alive and his parents. Now in the end we do find out why Butch's father hated him, and how exactly he got Vampire in him. BUT there is no closure to the family issues. Does he really just not care at all? Does his sister really just not care??? Guess you have to read it to see what I mean.

And in ending my choppy all over the place review I'll say that I really didn't like the ending of the book. It came way to fast, like it was all rushed in the end, and it wasn't even of Marissa and Butch! Are you serious! Comon', that just really irked me. But whatever, it was still a good book that I didn't put down for a second and would tell everyone to go get.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

2007-03-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome to colorful Trenton, New Jersey, and the wild and wonderful world of Stephanie Plum. In One for the Money, rookie "apprehension agent" Plum may be a bit wet behind the ears, but nobody's gonna take it easy on her; especially her first skip, an ex-cop and murder suspect named Morelli.

Holly Says

Stephanie Plum is a little down on her luck. The Trenton, New Jersey girl has lost her job as a lingerie buyer for a sleezy department store, her car has been repossessed, her overbearing Italian mother is trying to set her up with a balding, fat butcher and she's had to sell off all her furniture and appliances just to make ends meet.

As a last resort, she goes to her cousin Vinnie and blackmails him into giving her a job...as a bounty hunter. Steph doesn't know much about being a bounty hunter, but she's determined to get the $10,000 finders fee on the biggest skip-trace on the books. One vice cop, Joseph Morelli.

The thing is, Joe and Steph have a little history together, and Steph isn't sure if bringing him is just business as usual, or a personal vendetta. The first time she met Morelli she was 7 and he dragged her into his parents garage to play Choo-Choo, and didn't even let her hold the flashlight. Then, when she was 17, he nailed her behind the Eclair case at the donut shop she was working at, then wrote all the dirty details in the men's room at Mario's sub shop. Four years later, Steph saw him walking down the street and ran him over with her dad's Buick. So, yeah, bringing him down might be personal.

To make matters worse, Steph gets on the bad side of a psychotic deranged boxer name Benito Ramirez. But Steph is made of tough stuff and she isn't going to let a 250 lb psycho keep her from getting her man...

This is the first book in a (so far) 12 book series about bond agent Stephanie Plum. It's the perfect set up for the series and one of the funnies books I've ever read.

I love everything about it, from Steph's Mazda Miata getting repo'd by a sleezy guy she went to high school with, to her mother's constant harping. In the first three chapters alone, I was laughing so hard I was crying. Let's see:

Grandma Mazer, Steph's 80-year-old grandmother decides to start wearing biker shorts and accidentally shoots the ass out of the chicken their having for dinner with Steph's gun.

Steph goes to get a job with her cousin Vinnie and has to blackmail him into giving her the job by reminding him, "I know about Madam Zaretski and her whips and chains. I know about the boys. And I know about the duck."

Steph "commandeers" Morelli's car (read: steals) and when Morelli comes for it, he catches her the shower. She's stolen the distributor cap and he wants it back. When she refuses to give it up he handcuffs her to the curtain rod - naked - and leaves her there. Hey, he's not a complete asshole, he left her the phone.

Steph's antics are enough to have anyone in stitches. Pick up the first book (and the rest in the series) and give yourself over to the crazy world of Stephanie Plum. You won't be sorry.

5 out of 5 (It's not without it's flaws, but the laugh factor alone is enough to make me score this at the top of the chart)

Isabel Says

Ok, Holly gave you the plot. So I'll skip all that. This book was great. I loved Grandma Mazur. From shooting the chicken they were going to have for dinner with Stephanie's gun to her biker shorts, she was just hilarious!

Loved when she ran Joe Morelli over with her car. Well didn't run him over, just kind of clipped him. It was pay back for taking her virginity from behind the eclair case at the bakery she worked.

When Joe handcuffed her to shower rod naked and Ranger had to help Stephanie out.

When she blackmailed her cousin. Hilarious!

Benito Ramirez was just creepy! Ugh, i did not like that man. Just reading his scenes sent shivers up my spine. He's a raping, mutilating, boxer and he's set his sights on Stephanie. He's called her house, visited her at her apartment and left her a present. I was so hoping he'd get his. And in a way he did, but not like I had hoped. More like dying a slow painful death.

I'm looking forward to the next book.

Grade: A-

Haley's Cabin by Anne Rainey.

2007-03-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

Hero: Jeremy Pickett
Heroine: Haley Thorne
Category: Erotic Contemporary
Page Count: 107 pages.
Grade: B+

Every good girl longs for a chance to be a little naughty.

Raw from an ugly divorce and wrung out from her demanding job, Haley Thorne needs a break. When Haley’s doctor urges her to take a vacation, she heads to her secret cabin in the woods.

The very first night, Haley dreams of an erotic threesome that leaves her panting and aroused. When sexy police detective Jeremy Pickett shows up at her door, she’s shocked: He looks like the man in her midnight fantasy! Levelheaded Haley unleashes her inner seductress and has a little fun—handcuffs and all!

A very quick and fantastic read.

I was very wary about reading this book and at the same time a bit excited because I've read Anne's blog for a while and thought her blogs are great, I've got this thing with eBooks, I either really love them or really hate them.

Anne Rainey, I really loved your story.

It was hot and sexy and thoroughly filled to the brim with juicy bits. I loved every juicy morsel of it too. It was the bomb diggity! This is actually my first erotica book and while this book would totally get me in the dog house with my parents if they ever knew that I was reading these kinds of books, I didn't care one bit!

Call me slutty and be done with it because this book was a sure winner.

The opening of the story was just fanfrickin'tastic! I've never seen myself as the naughty temptress, always seeing myself shying away from stories with this much hot and steamy sex, but dude that shit was HOT! You go girl!

Jeremy Pickett was one fine ass hero that I just loved him to gooey bits! The sexy cop thing you had going with Jeremy had me sighing and wishing he was real and right here with me. LOL. I'd gobble him right up like he was my very own Thanksgiving dinner! haha. What I loved most about Jeremy, or Jay as Haley called him was how manly he was...he seemed so real, he said and reacted the same way a real man would react, he wasn't perfect and always saying the right thing and the sweet thing....so I effing loved it!

My favorite quote in the book came from this sexy man, when he told Haley when referencing their ages..."My experience in your gain."

HEYYYYYYYYYYY!

Haley was a great heroine too, I loved how she was able to match Jeremy in the bedroom with everything he wanted to do to her. You have to be good to actually pull off the having sex with a guy you've only known for a few hours thing off and you totally did, Anne...I found the story easy to follow, your storyline was quick paced and well put together. Between all of the sex, and there was quite a bit of it (thank you very much =)!) the story still moved and progressed greatly throughout this book. It didn't dull out or anything, you kept a great pace and I'm a total fan of yours!!

You know you're good when you can write about anal sex and I wouldn't even blink. I don't think I'd be down with that or even reading about it but I read about it in your book and wasn't even fazed by it...I was all like, HEYYYYYYYY! LOL. I even counted how many times I read my most despised word EVER used in your book (it was 3 times) and still I really enjoyed your book. GOOD JOB!

So....does Brad have a book coming out? Oh goodness I hope he does! I'm all curious about the sexy doctor and Lisa...can't wait for that one, please say you're writing it!

Another thing that I have to commend you on, Anne is your spelling...I didn't catch ONE SINGLE spelling error or typo in this book, so if they're in there, they're so cleverly hidden that I didn't catch them or else I was so wrapped up in the book that I didn't even notice them. So that's another plus for you sweetie.

I think this was a great first release and I eagerly await the rest of your books sweetie...I'm a big fat fan of yours!!! =)

I totally recommend this book for all of you naughty wenches who are looking for something quick, fun and thoroughly naughty...don't expect anything extremely deep with this book, because this book is all fun and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Great job Anne!

Deliver Me by Farrah Rochon

2007-03-01T13:44:00.000-08:00

After being dumped by her boyfriend and passed over for yet another promotion, Monica Gardner moves to New Orleans, determined to make a name for herself as the new attending ER physician at Methodist Memorial Hospital. As for men--she's through with them. But when given the chance to chair the hospital's annual charity banquet, Monica must elicit the help of gorgeous Ob-gyn Elijah Holmes.

Eli will do anything to thwart his matchmaking Mama's plan to reunite him with his high school girlfriend. So, when the sexy new ER doc asks for his help in planning this year's charity banquet, Eli devises the perfect scheme: He'll help put on the best banquet the hospital has ever seen, if Monica poses as his new girlfriend. But when Eli finds himself falling in love, he realizes convincing Monica of his true feelings may be his greatest delivery yet.

This is Farrah Rochon's first published novel. I read it last week, but I held off on reviewing it because I wasn't sure exactly how I felt about it. I think, based on the first few chapters of the book and the cover, I was expecting something a bit deeper, a bit heavier and a bit darker. The truth is, it's just a light and fluffy read. Which is fine, but since I was expecting something totally different, I was very disappointed when I finished the book. After thinking it over for a few days, and doing a quick re-read, I now realize it was my own expectations that ruined the book for me.

I'm a huge fan of the primetime drama Grey's Anatomy, and I think I expected something along those lines when I started this book. Although there were some medical aspects that seemed similar, overall the story was much less dramatic and much more fun.

Monica Gardner leaves St. Louis to start over in New Orleans, partially to get away from her demanding family, and partially to forget about her ex., a man whom she'd been with for a number of years and who cruelly left her. She's determined to make a name for herself at Methodist Memorial, and she's even more determined to avoid men.

Dr. Eli Holmes is known as "Super Doc" around the hospital, because he seems to perform heroic deeds on a daily basis. He's not in the market for a permanent relationship, and he's about ready to kill his mother for trying to set him up with yet another woman - This one a former high school flame who seems to have lost a few braincells in the intervening years.

When Monica is offered the position of director for a charity event at the hospital, she readily agrees. Her only problem? One Eli Holmes. It seems the sexy OB-GYN isn't interested in helping her with the charity event. Mostly because he doesn't think they'll be able to save the free clinic attached to the hospital and he feels he needs to devote his time to finding new care for his patients. But all that changes when his mama turns on the heat about his ex-sweetheart and he sees the perfect out in Monica Gardner. So he makes a proposal. If she'll pretend to be his girlfriend and get his mother off his back, he'll agree to throw the best charity event the hospital has ever seen.

Monica reluctantly agrees, but they're both more than surprised when they find themselves falling in love.

The Good: The relationship Eli had with his family, most especially his brothers, was wonderful. From what I understand, this is to be the first book in a trilogy with stories for his 2 brothers and I can't wait. His young niece was also adorable.

Monica's friendship with her sister-in-law was great, too. They had a tight bond with each other that reminded me of the relationship I have with my closest friends.

There was a secondary romance that I found rather intriguing. A pregnant patient of Eli's and her husband were on the rocks, and watching them come back together was great. At times, I was more interested in what was going on with them than with the main characters.

The Bad: I'm pretty anal about certain things, and one of them is TSTL heroines. Although Monica didn't quite cross the line into Stupidville, she came very close. Several times while reading I was very tempted to throw my book across the room. I managed to restrain myself, but it was a near thing.

I also found the writing to be a bit immature. For a first novel, I'd say it was alright, but not even to knock my socks off. There were a lot of typos and grammatical errors, which may not bother some people, but I'm anal enough that it took me right out of the story every time.

The Ugly: There were too many questions left unanswered. I don't mind being left with a bit of a cliffhanger when I know there will be connecting books to follow, but only a handful of the loose ends in this story were tied up. Such as Monica's relationship with her parents, among other things.

The last few chapters felt extremely rushed, which was terribly unfortunate. What could have shaped up to be a sweet, wonderful romance instead left me feeling rather confused and unsatisfied. If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say that Ms. Rochon needed to wrap the story up and sacrificed her HEA to do it.

For example: There was a BIG MISUNDERSTANDING with Eli's ex. She came to the house and basically screamed at Monica to stay away from "Her" man. Eli then worries over it and Monica runs away, but there was never any resolution with the ex. We didn't see her or hear about her again after that. I would assume that if she was that desperate to keep Eli, she'd have played a larger part in the last half of the book. Instead...nada.

I could give many other examples, but I'm sure you get the point.

Overall I'd say the story was a bit contrived but still enjoyable. Nothing you should lose sleep over not having read, but if you see it on the shelf of your local bookstore it wouldn't hurt you to pick it up, especially if you're in the mood for a quick, light read. You can buy it here or here.

3.25 out of 5

Just another reminder: Despite the dark, serious cover and the title of the book, this is a very lighthearted read. Don't be deceived as I was.

The Vampire Who Loved me by Teresa Medeiros

2007-03-01T07:09:00.000-08:00

Julian Kane is back in town.

Once, as a girl of seventeen, beautiful, headstrong Portia Cabot saved the cursed life of the dashing vampire Julian Kane-who marked her forever, then left to go in search of his soul. He returns five years later to find the enchanting young girl he left behind grown into a bewitching woman with a woman's heart . . . and a woman's desires.

Portia quickly discovers that Julian's seductive and forbidden kiss can still make her crave the night . . . and his touch. But the Julian who has returned to London is not the vampire she remembers. His fruitless pursuit of his stolen mortality has reduced him to drunken debauchery. And a recent spate of murders makes Portia fear that the man she has always adored may truly be a monster.

Julian knows he must drive Portia away-but his passion and hunger for her grow more irresistible every time they touch. For years he has fought the temptation to embrace his dark gifts, never realizing that Portia's love may give him the most dangerous gift of all . . . a reason to live.

First of all, I hate that cover. It looks like a cover for a contemp book not a historical. The guy also is not cute.

The story was ok. Julian wants to get his soul back. The only way is to track the vampire who sired him. Unfortunately, the vampire killed himself at the end of After Midnight. So now Julian has to find the vampire who sired that guy. And he does.

Valentine is a sexy, beautiful vampire who is obsessed with Julian. She wants him and is jealous of Portia. Apparently Julian says her name while he sleeps and sometimes while he's doing the deed with Valentine. So when Valentine stumbles upon Portia, she is all ready to kill Portia.

Portia was lovestruck with Julian when she was 17. When Julian was close to dying, she let him feed off her. Now at 22, she's still in love with him. Everyone tells her to stay away from Julian, but that only makes her more determined to find him.

Again, was not too impressed with the story. I knew Julian would get his soul back it was just a matter of when and how.

Grade: D

Author Interview with Anne Rainey

2007-02-27T23:30:00.000-08:00

Who exactly is Anne Rainey? We went right to the source to find out, and asked the author herself.

Anne lives in a small town way out in the middle of no-where-ville. She is a gorgeous blonde with wonderful curves and a money tree in the backyard. She never wants for anything and she always loves everyone. Of course, she wasn't always this way.

It all started on one "Rainey" day, as she was sitting on her comfy couch, reading a romance novel and sipping a hot chocolate. She realized the book she was reading seemed to lack a certain 'vavavoom!'. Thus, the talented, beautiful, and rich Anne Rainey was born.

Clearly, Anne is a mere figment. A ghostly figure that pops in and out of my head like a drive-by author. Nevertheless, I do so love it when she's visiting, because her imagination really is wickedly delicious! She'll bring you fantasies and erotic delights that will that will have you grabbing the ice water.

Anne Rainey is on the verge of setting the erotic romance genre on fire with her new release Haley's Cabin which comes out tomorrow, 2/27. She's a funny woman, a caring wife and a loving mother, but most importantly she can also write the heck out of a story.

I actually think I may be more excited about this interview and this book being released than Anne herself....okay well maybe not as much, but very very close!

I was fortunate enough to meet Anne Rainey over a year ago on the Lori Foster BB and right away she and I just clicked. She is funny, talented, honest, and just all around a great person.

During one of the many chats that went on over there it came up that Anne wrote, so of course I had to read some for myself. And OMG was I blown away!

It's no secret here that I love me some hot books and Anne brought on a whole new level of hotness that has me giddy with excitement. Along with great characters and an interesting plot line, the excerpts I've read for her exciting new book, titled Haley's Cabin has me dying for more.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the lovely Anne over the phone and through emails and I must say that she was just as great to talk to as she was to email with. She's extremely funny and there were no awkward moments throughout our conversations, for that I'm truly grateful because I'm a novice when it comes to interviews and I breezed right through this one, thanks in a large part to Anne.

While we conversed on the phone, I got to know Anne, the woman a lot more and I must say that she is, as Dylan would say, the BOMB DOT COM. Here are some quick excerpts from our phone conversation.

When I asked her how Hayley's Cabin came about, she surprised me with her answer.

"Hayley's Cabin wasn't supposed to be a story. It was a scene I wrote when I was in a poetry group. It was to help me in learning to write. Then I posted it on the Lori Foster BB and everyone wanted more. So I wrote more."

Here is the blurb about the book:

Every good girl longs for a chance to be a little naughty.

Raw from an ugly divorce and wrung out from her demanding job, Haley Thorne needs a break. When Haley’s doctor urges her to take a vacation, she heads to her secret cabin in the woods.

The very first night, Haley dreams of an erotic threesome that leaves her panting and aroused. When sexy police detective Jeremy Pickett shows up at her door, she’s shocked: He looks like the man in her midnight fantasy! Levelheaded Haley unleashes her inner seductress and has a little fun—handcuffs and all!

Having read bits and pieces of it, I had no idea she hadn't intended it to be a story when it started. HC is 38,000 words, a category length. About 120 pages. And when I asked Anne she told me "it took a couple of months to write if you add up all the days". The original release date was supposed to be Valentines day, but it's been pushed back a bit and is now scheduled for February 27th. Not V-day, but still in the month of love.

With this being Anne's first book published I wanted to know, what are the most frustrating parts of being an author and the whole writing process?

It's frustrating with edits because I always make the same mistakes! It's my fault and I just keep doing it. But for the most part it's not any harder than I thought it would be.

also...

I do so much research for the books (I've talked to police officers, programmers, and construction workers for different books) and I only use the tiniest of what I research in the actual book.

What made you want to write romance?

Well the first story I wrote was because a book I read was to tame and the hero was feminine. I thought 'that's not what a man would do', so I made my own hero. It was a paranormal book, back when they weren't so popular. I've never done anything with it, it's funny to go back and look at it now.

How long does it usually take for you to write a book?

If You Dare was the book that took me the longest to write. There was sooo much research! It is the first book in a trilogy I am writing. It's about two brothers and a step sister and their family business is a winery, and they are Italian. So there was much research on what types of grapes grow where in Italy etc. etc.

Anything in the works right now?

Right now am trying to get a short story done titled Taming Rozland. It is for a Summer Heat Anthology for this summer. A lot of great authors are in on it. It's a story about a guy from the wrong side of the tracks, and a rich debutant girl. The book may be in print, not sure as of now.

I also just recently found out that Anne has another book coming out in April 27th (my sister birthday!), from Forbidden Publications, titled Instructing Sarah. And from the sounds of it it seems like it's gonna be just as hot as HC. If you go to Anne's myspace page you can see video's she made for both HC and IS.

....on with the questions!

Do you need to have a certain set up for when you write? Like no noise and only at a certain time of day?

I can write anytime. The kids can be playing X-Box and it doesn't faze me. I go into my own world. Which is good cause then I'm not shushing them and they don't have to leave the room I'm in. And in the summer I can take my lap top outside while the girls are swimming. Although summer is the hardest time for me to write cause I love to go hiking with my family. I think it's good for them, and they come first, always.

With a lot of authors dabbling in different genre's I had to ask, would you write another genre?

I've written 2 thrillers. I would try my hand at anything but I think I'm pretty aware of what I'm good at writing and what I'm not.

I think the most important part is that she's aware of what she is and isn't good at. We've had to many authors stray from something that they are really good at and go into things that maybe they aren't horrible at but definitely aren't their strong suit, Julie Garwood.

Do you use people you know for a basis for a character? She had me rolling with this one and her reason. lol.

YES! If I don't like someone I can write them into my book and deal with them as I want to. lol.

Are you afraid of the reception that Haley's Cabin will get?

I'm getting a lot of good vibes from everyone on how HC will be taken but I'm still scared to death.

Are you worried what people will think of your f/f/m sex scene?

I wanted a straight woman that has never had a bisexual thought to read it and still think it is a very sensual and sexy thing. And go WOW!

When Annie and I talked it was actually right around the time there was a big to do going on with some authors upset over bad reviews in blogland. So I asked her opinion on it....What if you get a bad review? How will you react/feel?

At first I'll want to shove it down whoever's throat. Then I'll probably laugh. That's me. But I started off a reader and I do believe that you put your money out for that book, your entitled to your thoughts on it. Good or bad. And you have the right to share it with anyone. And it's always good to get some criticism to better my writing. (Ain't that the truth!)

What did you do when you got signed?

FREAKED OUT!

When do you think you'll allow your daughters to read your work?

My oldest daughter is 14, I think she'll need to be at least 16 before she can read my stuff. She has a boyfriend and he wants to read my stuff and I tell him HELL NO! lol, there's no way he's getting ideas from my work. My youngest is 11 so she has awhile.

With Erotica getting bigger and bigger there have been a lot of debates on the differences between erotica and porn. When I broached this topic with Anne she had something to say...

Porn has no plot it's all just sex. That's not what I'm doing. Erotica has it HEA, and there is a plot to it, it's just the sex scenes are hot and long. I could write porn if I wanted to but that's not what I'm doing here.

I get so frustrated with the closed door issue with sex. In movies it is so acceptable for there to be sex, and it is just rated R, not as porn. But to write about it there's this bit NO NO! I just don't get it. Why is it so hard for people to separate porn and erotica?

As an erotica author do you feel free to discuss the stuff you write about? And will you permit that type of stuff to be discussed on your message boards?

Kids have no place reading my books, just as they have no place watching a R rated movie. If you write it be prepared to talk about it. Sweet romance is great for some people just not for me.

What do you find the most sexy on a man?

SIZE! Women are lying size matters! lol. Also forearms, that does it for me. And hands. A huge turn off is soft hands on a man, they can not feel like chicks hands! The need to be work worn. My husband does a lot of outdoors work

How do you come up with what you write? How much enters your marriage?

Fantasy is a healthy thing and is not embarrassing, nothing should be taboo.

As a married woman I feel love doesn't stop at the bedroom door. It's not always pretty flowers. Sometimes it's dirty & that's okay, my husband definitely gives me a lot to write about.

When I asked Anne about her hero's and if she takes personalities from men she knows to create them we had some laughs. I got quite a few stories about her childhood growing up as the only girl, and the baby to boot. But here's her answer and a little of some of her stories...

I definitely use my husband as an outline for my hero's. And sometimes traits from my brothers too.

I have three brothers and I'm the baby. lol. We have a joker, a flirt, and a chauvinist. My oldest brother seems to think I should be locked up in a convent somewhere. I don't know how he thinks I got my girls cause surely I have never had sex! lol.

Just so you can get a picture of how my growing up with these brothers was here's a story.

I am 10 months younger than the youngest boy. I remember one time when I was in high school (we were in the same grade) and I had randomly told my brother about a boy in my class that was picking on me. He didn't even seem to be paying any attention to me as I told him this, and didn't even respond. Later when I went to that class the boy that had made fun of me came in and started to apologize, I was shocked! Then I noticed my brothers friend in the back laughing so I asked him what was so funny....he said my brother just beat the shit out of the boy in the bathroom! lol...
Yeah I also went to my homecoming dance with one of my brothers friends. Very uncomfortable.

Sexiest thing you own?

Does my sweat shirt count? lol

Three things your husband would say about you?

Sexy legs, pretty eyes, stubborn.

Clickhere to buy your copy of Haley's Cabin, and find out all the other ways you can keep up with Anne Rainey and her work. We hope you had just as much fun getting to know Anne as I did a lot with the other girls here at SF. If you have any questions for Anne feel free to drop a line here in the comments and I'm sure Anne will be happy to answer them.

Oh and silly me...starting 2/27 if you stop by Anne's site and leave her a message in her guest book, letting her know what you think of HC or just her, she'll enter you into a drawling to win your very own copy of Haley's Cabin!

And no worries, you know we wouldn't leave you hanging without any teasers, so here it is. And Anne gave us a special SF peek that's not anywhere else, so enjoy. And remember that Anne said this when you read this excerpt: love doesn't stop at the bedroom door. It's not always pretty flowers. Sometimes it's dirty & that's okay.

Haley must still have been dreaming, because things this exciting just didn’t happen to her. Frankly, she’d never met a man like Jay, or Jeremy, rather. He was so straightforward. He saw what he wanted and threw caution to the wind. After being married to Eric, a man who put on a facade to get what he wanted, it was a refreshing change to meet a guy who felt no need to pretend.

Right at that moment Haley was a few scant inches away from Jay’s impressive chest. God, he looked delicious. She had visions of coasting her tongue over and around each of his nipples, down his torso, then unbuttoning his jean shorts. She’d watch them fall to the floor. Then she’d get to see his erection. Haley wanted her mouth on his cock. She ached to taste him. Honesty forced her to admit she wanted what he’d done to her in her dreams. This was a vacation, after all. A moment out of time. Haley yearned to take some memories back with her on Monday, when her fantasy ended and real life intruded. Something that would last her a lifetime.

After spending an erotic weekend with Jay/Jeremy Pickett, Haley had a sneaky feeling other men were going to seem pale in comparison.

“Can you take off your shorts for me, Jay?” Haley asked, feeling bolder now her mind was made up to take what she could from their encounter.

Jay smiled and in a hoarse whisper replied, “I already took off my top. It’s your turn.”

Okay, so he was going to play hard to get. No problem.

“It’s not really fair, though, because this dress is all I’m wearing.” Take that, she thought haughtily.

Jay’s gaze went south, bypassing her chest and going straight to the notch between her legs. She could have sworn she felt heat there, just from the intensity of his stare.

His silvery eyes changed to liquid mercury. His words nearly melted her in the chair. “My cock is going to feel so damn good inside you, Haley. So good you’ll forget all about your erotic dream. You’ll beg me, baby. That’s a promise.”

He stood to his full, impressive height and took off his shorts right there in front of her. Oh my, he was every bit as big as he’d been in her dream. He was full and hard and so ready for her that her mouth watered from the sight. All she’d need do was lean forward and he’d be inside her wet mouth.

With his feet braced apart, a hard, predatory look on his face, he demanded, “The dress, Haley, off with it.”

He was no longer the friendly, flirtatious man she’d eaten dinner with. Now Jay was an aggressive and dominant male. The raw masculinity of him turned her on more than anything ever had. If she hadn’t felt so confident about herself, the sheer size of him might’ve intimidated her. Haley was confident, however. She’d gained her confidence the hard way. And she knew, no matter how intimidating he seemed, he’d never hurt her.

Without standing, Haley slipped her fingers beneath the hem of her dress and inched it upward. By small degrees she bared her thighs. As she reached her bottom, she had to lift slightly to get the dress higher. Soon, it was around her middle. She didn’t get any farther. Jay’s hand was suddenly there, cupping her exposed mound. His nostrils flared and his jaw twitched, as if he wanted to do much more than touch. She liked the thought. Haley wasn’t the type to drive men mindless and it was empowering to realize she had that effect on Jay.

She wiggled, and he moved his hand away, seemingly reluctantly, and she took the dress off the rest of the way. Haley sat in the hard wooden kitchen chair, totally nude, while she let him look his fill. She only hoped he liked what he saw or she would absolutely die of mortification.

As if reading her thoughts, Jay groaned. “You look so sweet sitting there. So bashful with your legs pressed tight together.” He snared her gaze with his own. “I can’t wait to spread you open, to see that lovely cunt dripping from the first orgasm I give you, baby.”

She couldn’t think. Couldn’t even speak. Jay had taken the heavy weight of his cock in his hand and began rubbing himself as he spoke to her. The sight of him mesmerized Haley. His words penetrated, and she managed to ask, “First orgasm?”

A slow grin spread across his face as he crouched in front of her. He leaned forward and took her nipple into his mouth, softly suckling on her.

“Oh, God.”

Jay laved at her, loving in his assault. Haley could have come right there, without him so much as touching her clit.

Abruptly, he stood, staring down at her now glistening breast. “I’m really going to enjoy playing with your pretty tits.” He stopped touching himself and took her hand, pulling her out of the cold chair and leading her to the backdoor. When he opened it, a rush of brisk night air came in and she was reminded of the dream once again. It was chilly then, too, when she’d let him and Marissa into her house.

Together, they stepped out onto a stone walkway leading to a secluded spot which hid the Jacuzzi. Thick shrubs and colorful flowers formed a wall around it. They were in their own private paradise.

As he took her to the side of the hot tub, Haley noticed he’d set out candles. All shapes and sizes glowed everywhere—on the ground, the little outdoor table next to the tub and along one edge of the walk. The sweet smell of vanilla permeated the air. She wanted to comment on the romance of it all, but before she could, Jay leaned down and whispered another erotic promise into her ear.

“I’ll make you come so many times you’ll wish to be my sex slave.” He licked the spot beneath her ear, and her body shook and her mind went blank. “I’m going to turn you into a little wanton.” He moved farther down her neck, tasting her, nibbling on her overheated skin. “My own private submissive,” Jay promised, then he lifted away from her and ordered, “Get into the water now.”

She obeyed. There was really never any other choice. Every fiber of her being was tuned in and turned on, and she longed to submit to him. Just as he promised, she already ached to be his dutiful slave.

If you want a little bit more click here and read the peek Samhain has on their site.

Shadow Dance by Julie Garwood.

2007-02-26T10:29:00.000-08:00

Hero: Noah Clayborne
Heroine: Jordan Buchanan
Category: Contemporary
Page Count: 400+
Grade: C

The eagerly anticipated novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author who sets the standards for romance. For years fans have clamored for a book starring beloved recurring characters Jordan Buchanan and Noah Clayborne who have been featured in past Garwood novels. Here they are in a very sexy and highly entertaining tale.

At last, we have Noah Clayborne's book, in which he falls madly in love with his best friend and partner's sister, Jordan Buchanan.

They're at her best friend's wedding, where Kate (the best friend) is marrying Jordan's yummy brother, Dylan. Kate's younger sister, Isabel gets a visitor, who says he's a relative of theirs on their MacKenna side. He tells Jordan that it was a disgrace that a MacKenna would willingly marry a Buchanan and because she got annoyed with the weird guy, she tells him that maybe she'll do her own research to see if there's any truth to the tales that the nutty professor was spoutin' at the wedding. While on the dance floor, Noah informs Jordan that she needs to get laid and loosen up because she's pretty much...boring. So because she doesn't need money right now after the selling of her computer chip and company which made her stinking rich, she tells him that she's going on a treasure hunt to find some lost treasure.

And she goes to Texas to find the guy and copy his research for Isabel and start her own research, to try to make sense of the stories that the crackhead professor was talking about. Nothing has been going right since she got to Serenity but that doesn't deterr her from her mission, well until she found the nutty professor dead in her trunk.

Ewww...

Because it's aparent that someone is trying to frame her, she calls her brother Nick, who's an FBI Agent and instead of getting Nick, she gets his partner, Noah Clayborne. The odious man who got her in this mess anyway, if he hadn't told her that she was boring and needed to be spontaneous, she wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. But she tells him what happens and he tells her to call the cops, report the body and then wait for him and Nick to get there, they're on their way.

So she hangs up with Noah, calls 911 and while she's on the phone with 911, she hears sirens which she thinks is the patrol unit sent to check things out, but while she's on the phone with the 911 peeps, the sheriff's car comes to a screeching halt and the two Dickey brothers jump out and one of them, hot head JD socks her in the face and stomps on her phone, ruining it.

Guilty much?

A bunch of crap happens, Nick and Noah finally show up and Noah sticks to her side like glue and more bodies show up in her trunk and it makes for a pretty good story but I was still a bit disappointed.

Not in the story so much but in the fact that I didn't get to know Noah like I thought I would have. There wasn't much character development where he was concerned and I was looking forward to that. At the end of the story, I still felt like Noah was a secondary character, sort of how I felt for Noah Maitland in Judith McNaught's Night Whispers.

Also, the love match between Noah and Jordan felt kind of rushed and forced. It was like, one minute they were just friends and then the sleep together and BAM, they're in love. It happened too quick for me which rendered it a bit unbelievable, but that's just me. I didn't see it coming and because of that I didn't really care for it.

Aside from all of that, the book was just okay. It wasn't her best, it wasn't my favorite, I was disappointed that this was how Noah's book turned out...I was just hoping for more and it fell short of that mark.

But one things' for sure...I'm looking forward to reading the next one, does anyone know if JG is going to write Walker or Aiden/Cordie's book? Gosh I hope so.

Slow Burn by Julie Garwood.

2007-02-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

Hero: Dylan Buchanan
Heroine: Kate Mackenna
Category: Contemporary
Page Count: 424 pgs.
Grade: B

An unpretentious beauty who rediates kindness, kate MacKenna doesn't have a bad bone in her body--or an enemy in the world. So why are bombs igniting everywhere she goes? The first explosion brings her face-to-face with a handsome Charleston police detective. The second one sends her into the arms of her best friend's brother--a Boston cop who's a little too reckless and way too charming for cmofort. But Dylan Buchanan won't let emotion prevent from doing his job: Someone is trying to kill Kate, and Dylan is the only one standing between her and the monster who wants her dead.

I finished this book in one sitting. So I guess it was good. LOL.

I'm still kind of unsure how I feel about this book because I read it so fast but I do love some Dylan Buchanan...man that man is frickin' sexy as all get out but I think his brother, Alec still has him beat as my favorite Buchanan, which surprises me since I love heroes who are big time flirts and trust me when I say, Dylan knows how to flirt.

So Kate, who doesn't have any enemies that she knows of can't seem to go anywhere without someone trying to blow her up, the first one could have been a fluke but not the second one. The second one, she was the only person around so it was more than a little evident that whoever is blowing things up is trying to blow HER up. That's when her best friend, Jordan Buchanan sends her brother, Dylan who just got shot in the line of duty (he's a cop) and is recuperating to Charleston to find out what's going on. Dylan is sweet on Kate so with little persuasion, he goes...even though he's miffed with her after the way she leaves Boston without a word to him.

I thought as a couple, Kate and Dylan were great. The chemistry between these two leaped right off the pages and I laughed whenever Dylan would back Kate into a corner or a counter and fluster her. I love reading about things like that and Dylan did a great job landing Kate because she was so lost without him. It was great crap!

This book is pretty fast paced, the flow was on point and Julie Garwood does a great job writing these two's story. You could tell a great deal of love was between these two, the end was a bit rushed but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. I enjoyed the entire book and am already anxious to start the next book, Shadow Dance.

If you read the rest of the series, I don't think you'd be disappointed in this book, it wasn't spectacular but it was still nice. It's no Killjoy that's for sure, but on the flipside, it's no Ransom either.

But still it's good.

Oh wait, what I loved most about this book is Dylan's nickname for Kate. How cute was that? And how unique...when he tells her that he loves pickles, Awwwww....I love it and I love him!

Murder List by Julie Garwood

2007-02-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

Hero: Alec Buchanan
Heroine: Regan Hamilton Madison
Category: Contemporary
Page Count: 425 pgs.
Grade: B+

Hotel heiress regan Hamilton Madison is flirting with danger. She agrees to help a journalist friend expose Dr. Lawrence Shields, a shady self-help guru who may have been responsible for the death of one of his vulnerable devotees. Hoping to find some damning evidence, Regan attends a Shields seminar, where the doctor his guests make a list of people who have hurt or angered them over the years and asks: Would your world be a better place if these people ceased to exist? Treating the exercise as a game, Regan plays along.

The experience is all but forgotten--until the first person on Regan's list turns up dead. Shock turns to horror when another name from her list surfaces as a corpse. While brutal murders seem to stalk regan's every m ove, her atteaction to the detective assigned to protect her grows. As the menace intensifies had a serial killer circles, regan must discover who has turned her private revenge fantasies into grisly reality.

I liked this book far more than I thought I was going to like it considering how much I didn't really care for the previous book which I read years ago, Killjoy. It's not that I hated Killjoy it was just that compared to Julie Garwood's historical/highlander books, her contemporaries weren't as good.

But I really got into this book, Alec was a fantabulous hero, I think he's my favorite Buchanan brother so far. You see, Regan Madison is in the hotel business. She's in the part of the business of giving money away. She's really good at what she does too, everyone loves her.

Everyone but the guy that's trying to kill her.

Alec Buchanan, who is brother to the hotties, Nick (JG's Heartbreaker) and Theo (JG's Mercy) Buchanan is a cop who is being recruited by the FBI, he finally takes the job as an FBI and his boss gets so pissed off at him that he tacks him with Bodyguard duty for the hotel heiress.

My favorite part of reading these books is watching the journey the couple go through while they fall a little bit in love with each other...bit by bit. The whole story that revolves around them forming feelings for each other, to me is just about the greatest thing. The romance in these books is just about one of the greatest things I can think of. It's why I read romance novels, to read about the journey to the happy ending.

Julie Garwood does a great job of setting up Alec and Regan's story, the way she brought these two together and the way she tells their story really had me so engrossed in the book that I zipped right through it.

I enjoyed this book a whole lot. I enjoyed Alec's sloppy sexiness, I loved his flirty confidence where Regan was concerned, I loved their first meeting, with him stinking to high heaven and her laughing at him. I loved how protective he was where she was concerned and I loved loved loved...him. He was the bomb, seriously.

Regan was a great heroine too, I really enjoyed Laurent from Heartbreaker and Michelle as well, but my favorite couple so far, is Alec and Regan...their story and them two as a couple really fit and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the entire b ook.

I loved how Regan, Sophie and Cordie met, how they became friends and stayed friends throughout each other's lives. It was really sweet.

Now, what I didn't like...I didn't like how we were left hanging about Aiden and Cordie, do they get together or not? Are we going to get their story soon or no? JG can't leave me hanging like this...seriously. Another thing I didn't like was not being able to meet Walker. After all the talk about him throughout the book, I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to meet him at all. I hope that means that Walker will soon be getting his book, gosh I really hope so.

Aside from those two things, I really liked this book and totally recommend it. It's better than Killjoy and just as great as Heartbreaker and Mercy. The mystery surrounding the story kept me guessing throughout most of the book and the story fell neatly into place which I loved. The ending was great and Alec is a sexy hero...what more could you want?

Read it, you'll like it.

The Stranger In Her Bed by Janet Chapman.

2007-02-21T19:32:00.000-08:00

Hero: Ethan Knight
Heroine: Anna Segee
Category: Contemporary
Page Count: 384 pgs
Grade: A

When Ethan agreed to work at a sawmill his family is purchasing, he didn't foresee getting fired on his first day. He should be mad at the fiercely outspoken female foreman, but something about her seems disconcertingly familiar--even though Ethan is sure he'd remember meeting a stunning beauty like Anna Segee before.

Anna has never forgotten Ethan--or the schoolgirl crush she had on him before her father whisked her off to Canada. Now the shy, gangly girl is grown up and back in Oak Grove with a new name, new confidence and a newly inherited mill of her own. Her superb reputation in a male-dominated industry hasn't come easy, but even harder will be ignoring the sexy man Ethan has become...

So Anna Segee comes back to Oak Grove after many years away getting to know her long lost father and facing the life that she walked away from. The life her Grandfather, Samuel Fox left behind in his car accident.

Fox Run Mills is her inheritance, the one thing that her Grandfather left behind for her. Against her Father's wishes, Anna returns to Oak Grove to make a life of her own, one that didn't involve her over protective Father and pesky brothers making every decision for her, fixing every little aspect of her life for her. She came back to make a name for herself and live on her own two feet.

It should have been easy but Ethan Knight, her long ago Knight in Shining Armor keeps putting a cramp in her style. You see, he's living in a spare cabin on her land and she's his landlord. But the cabin isn't up and running to his liking so he's taking it out on her, which means he's sleeping in her bed and she's sleeping on the couch because she was in a car accident that Ethan saved her from. He drives her home, sets her up on the couch and he, himself shacks up for the next couple of nights while she's recuperating from her ordeal, sleeping in her bed. He takes care of her and becomes the kind of man that she ran away from. The kind that boss her around, makes decisions for her, tells her what's good for her and she hates it...

...almost as much as she kinda likes it.

When these two get into it, they really get into it. It was funny to see them yelling at eachother and arguing just because they love to be going at each other. They had fun razzing eacho ther and I enjoyed reading all about their little squirms.

At the beginning of this book I wanted more Ethan. I wanted to see what happened to him in the past (which was talked about in The Seduction of His Wife) that made him the way he is today. I wanted to know why he was so cynical where women were concerned. I wanted all the mysteries of TSoHW brought to light and I wanted to love Ethan more than Alex...why? Because even in Alex's book, I knew I was going to love Ethan more. He was more mysterious, held my attention more than Alex did and I really loved me some Alex.

And Janet Chapman didn't disappoint me at all because I DID love Ethan more than Alex.

Anna Segee was a capable heroine, it was great to see her making a life for herself apart from the family that babied her from the time she was brought into their family. She did well enough with the rebuilding of her Grandfather's Legacy and I loved her friendship with Jane. I loved seeing her make Ethan jealous with the men at the dance, I loved it all the more because Ethan wasn't all that jealous, he was so sure that she'd be going home with HIM that night and well, after all that, it was just so great. I love Ethan's Knight in Shining Armor complex. It suits him well.

It was so good to see Ethan's family in the book and meeting and seeing Anna's family was a great addition to the book and i was super happy with the entire book.

I know that Nicole liked Alex's book better than this book (only slightly but still) but I didn't. I loved Ethan and Anna's story better than Alex and Sarah's. It might be because I have forgotten a lot of A&S's story and E&A's story is fresh in my mind, but I liked the depth of this story, the flow of this story and the overall presentation of this book.

It was a good read and I'm so glad that I finally picked it up. For those of you that read and loved Alex's book, I would totally recommend this book for you to read as well.

Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie

2007-02-20T14:30:00.000-08:00

Hero: Alex
Heroine: Nina
Category: Contemp
Page Count: 224, hb
Grade: A
Buy It: Here or here.
Part basset, part beagle, all Cupid . . . can a matchmaking hound fetch a new love for his owner?

For Nina Askew, turning forty means freedom -- from the ex-husband whose career always came first, from their stuffy suburban home. Freedom to have her own apartment in the city, freedom to focus on what she wants for a change. And what she wants is something her ex always vetoed -- a puppy. A bouncy puppy to cheer her up. Instead she gets . . . Fred.

Overweight, smelly and obviously suffering from some kind of doggy depression, Fred is light-years from perky. But for all his faults, he does manage to put Nina face-to-face with Alex Moore, her gorgeous, younger downstairs neighbor.

Alex looks great on paper -- a sexy, seemingly sane, surprisingly single E.R. doctor who shares Fred's abiding love for Oreos -- but a ten-year difference in age, despite his devastating smile, is too wide a gap for Nina to handle. Ignoring her insistent best friend, some interfering do-gooders and the ubiquitous Fred -- not to mention her suddenly raging hormones -- Nina thinks anyone but Alex would be a better bet for a relationship. But with every silver-haired stiff she dates, the more she suspects it's the young dog-loving doctor she wants to sit and stay!

Nina has wanted a dog practically from the day her and Guy got married, he didn't. It should have been a sign. 15 years later she's divorced and ready to get her dog. It's her 40th birthday and she wants a perky happy puppy, what she leaves with is Fred. An older overweight depressed dog, but what does it matter when he makes her happy? That's what she wanted all along. But living on the third floor makes it a bit difficult for him to do his thing, especially without an elevator, so she teaches him to go down the fire escape out the window. All is fine until one time he doesn't come back.....

Fred seems to have found a new friend, he's climbed into the second story window instead of his third floor one, and meets Alex. Alex has been an ER doctor for awhile, his family has been harping on him to choose a profession. It would seem he has but coming from a long line of specialist doctors an ER doctor is NOT a profession. It's also been hard in the dating field, every woman he dates is ready to settle down and sprout children, Alex isn't ready for marriage let alone the fact that he doesn't want children. But when he meets Fred and returns him to his owner he thinks he just might have meet the right woman.

Because of a ten year age gap Nina is very weary of anything romantic with Alex. She's come up with every excuse, his age, his maturity, his .... well everything. But nothing can change the feelings she has every time he is near, or every time she thinks of him for that matter.

Alex doesn't care about Nina's age, and is determined to make sure she doesn't care either. He wants her to see him as a grown man worthy of her. But he still is weary to make THE move, scared she'll turn away and his chance will be lost.

With Nina's best friend that has the black thumb in relationships writing a book on her love life and pushing Nina into SOMETHING with Alex. And their 75 year old upstairs neighbor and her 63 year old boyfriend also dropping hints to how age never matters. And everything else Nina and Alex are fighting an uphill battle. Throw in Alex's older brother Max that's struggling with his life decisions and an alcoholic, cardiac surgeon father this book adds up to lots of fun and a great romance. Hell throw in a red lace incredi bra while we're at it too. This is the closest to a Bet Me book. I loved it! The entire feel of the story, the banter, the dog it just makes a perfect Crusie book. Were there faults? Sure I think Charity and Max should have had some type of ending weather together or with someone else. In the end Alex went a little over board with what he was doing to prove to Nina he was mature and stable enough for her, but he smartened up. So like I said, this one rates #2 right next to Bet Me. A definite great read. Go Get It!

Dylan's Turn:

Hero: Alex Moore
Heroine: Nina Askew
Category: Contemporary
Grade: A

This book was the bomb. Nicole already gave you the low down on this very book, so all I'm gonna add is that this was a very fast read for me and it captured my attention right from the very beginning.

I didn't even issues with the age difference between Nina and Alex. It didn't bother me at all, I loved the both of them too. Nina was dumb about some things but Alex was too and it didn't bother me one bit.

I loved the flow of the story and thought that JC did a great job telling this story. If you guys haven't read this book, you totally should because it's the bomb DOT com. I loved it! The only thing that I want now? Max and Charity's book. LOL.

Oh quick question though, did you guys pronounce Char as Char (like char broiled, or shar) or as Chair, like CHARity? That little bit through me off for a bit. LOL.

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer.

2007-02-16T07:28:00.000-08:00

Hero: Edward Cullen
Heroine: Isabella Swan
Category: Paranormal, Young Adult
Page Count: 563 pages
Grade: A

For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of an evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may just be beginning....

Legions of readers entranced by the New York Times bestseller Twilight are hungry for more, and they won't be disappointed by this gripping sequel. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. Passionate, riveting, and deeply moving, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.

Dylan Says

Stephanie Meyer sure knows how to write some fantabulous books because New Moon was just as great as Twilight and I was just as much in love with Edward Cullen in this book as I was in the last book. This is the second book in the series, I don't even know what the name of the series is but I am a big time fan of Stephanie Meyer now. The woman knows her way around a pen and paper. I am literally wrapped up in her world and have no want to get out. She is beyond great, she's one of the best.

Now, Edward is missing through a whole chunk of this book but I cannot say that I didn't enjoy the book anyway, I sorely missed having him there to be with Edward and I was seriously heart broken right alongside Bella but I was just so happy that Jacob was there.

Jacob.

He was such a great character, another favorite of mine in this series. I liked him in Twlight but I liked him even better in New Moon. My heart hurt for him just as much as it hurt for Bella in this book and I think that's why I love these books so much. They ripped emotion after emotion right out of me and not once was I taken out of the book. I want a happy ending for Paris, I mean Jacob. Because it was more than evident in Twilight that he had a crush on Bella, that crush blossomed into something so much more and you'd have to be deaf, blind and dumb to not see that the reason why Jacob hates Edward so much is because well, read the book...then we can discuss this book but yes, suffice it all to say that I love Jacob Black. This book was just what I needed to bring me out of my Paranormal slump, I'm more than ready to jump into the next paranormal book, because I just love me some sexy vampires.

You guys should totally read this book, I don't want to get too into the stories because for Charm, I'm trying not to give away all the dirty details of the book, just READ THIS BOOK IT WAS GREAT!

Isabel Says

I'm torn. The story was good. Once I started reading, I was hooked. Stephanie Meyer knows how to tell story. However, there are parts I'm just not happy with. Edward missing from most the of the books. The he said, she said. Bella unintentionally leading Jacob on. Yeah she told him they were just friends and Jake said he understood. But saying things like, "You're breaking up with me!?" That's isn't something you say to your friend.

Jacob. I like him before he changed. After he changed, I was little annoyed with him. I understood the animosity with the vampires. But the whole protectiveness of Bella with Alice? I found myself annoyed with Jake. Hello, she loves Edward! She's practically family with The Cullens. You knew this. Yeah I know you have a crush on Bella and this feud with The Cullens, but you knew how Bella felt about them.

So yeah, I'm torn with the book. I liked it but there are parts I'm unhappy with. I'm gonna leave this one grade less for now.

Daphne Says

This book was one emotional roller coaster for me. I was shocked that Edward left so early in the story, it almost made me not want to read anymore. Especially seeing page upon page of the months that passed by. I thought that was clever, and gave the story a dramatic effect, but boy was it depressing. The majority of the story focused on Bella's friendship with Jacob. Ah, Jacob. Poor guy, I felt so bad for him. I know Meyer's compared the trio to Romeo and Juliet, but for me I thought of Ducky from Pretty in Pink, the classic story of the guy who falls for his best friend, who happens to be in love with the school stud. Another dip in the emotional roller coaster.

My heart really goes out to Jacob, but I still love Edward more. Why? I guess it's because Edward was always presented as a vampire, and he's been loveable from the beginning. Jacob is a great friend to Bella, but I just knew he would end up being a werewolf, and I had a feeling that the transition would be difficult for him. I think Edward has the advantage of being older, not just in his human age (17 versus Jacob's 15 or 16?), but also decades of living as a vampire. Anyway, the middle was a bit harder for me to get through, only because Edward wasn't there, but I still enjoyed the story. Up until the ending, where things got intense.

I personally enjoyed the last portion of the book, only because this is where the action and suspense occurred. However, by the end I was a bit frustrated with Bella. The fact that she asked the Cullens to take a vote on her immortality was just.... lame. By the end of Twilight I felt she was a bit hasty in her decision to be a vampire. Yes, I know she loves Edward and for her there is no ifs ands of buts... however, I wish she would not dismiss Edward's points so quickly. After all, he's lived as a vampire for a hundred years, so he knows what he's talking about. Anyway, going back to my original point, even though I disagree with her, it's still her decision, so why is she putting it to a vote? Ugh, that really annoyed me. Then, when Edward proposes to her, she's instantly hesitant. That's so contradictory to me, she can choose immortality in the blink of an eye, yet she's freaked out about marriage? I'm curious to see how this all plays out in the end.

Like Twilight, I thought New Moon was very well written. However, it's definitely not as good as the first. I am giving this one a B.

Witness in Death by J.D. Robb

2007-02-10T21:30:00.000-08:00

Opening night at New York's New Globe Theater turns from stage scene to crime scene when the leading man is stabbed to death center stage. Now Eve Dallas has a high profile, celebrity homicide on her hands. Not only is she lead detective, she's also a witness - and when the press discovers that her husband owns the theater, there's more media spotlight than either can handle. The only way out is to move fast. Question everyone and everything . . . and in the meantime, try to tell the difference between the truth - and really good acting.

When I first started this series I think I read the first 6 back to back. Then the next few spread out. When I got to Loyalty for some reason I could not get through it. It was like I was on In Death overload. So I did what I never do, I put it down half way through it. As you know now I picked it back up and finished it (since I don't read out of order and I now am done this book) and seemed to right back on my In Death kick like I was in the start.

Sooooooo I pick up Witness in Death and OMG! I loved this one! I really think this one may be my favorite so far. Well maybe I really like the one where Mavis got with her man, but I forget the title. Anyhow, I'm gonna tell you all now, I won't give away the 'who do it' but I am talking about the Peabody, McNab etc. etc. So if you've never read the story and don't want to know about these people's personal lives then don't read.

Okay so Roarke opens one of his new acquisitions (is that the right word to use?), a Theater, it's opening night and the main actor is murdered right there on the stage, in front of thousands of witnesses, in front of Eve, and with a knife that was supposed to be a prop.

One thing J.D. Robb is good for is jumping right into the action.

Obviously this books about the who did it, most of the suspects are actors so Eve, along with her aid Peabody, have to peel away all the different layers. Who's acting? Who's not? How can you tell?

Not to mention we all (well anyone who's read any of these books) know that Eve struggles with the nightmares of her childhood and this case hits close to home on more than one occasion.

I think Eve became even more .... human in this book. Not that she was some cold hearted woman before. But in each book, Robb peels away a little more of Eve's armor and shows her vulnerability, allows her to lean more on her husband. And not only that but we saw some of the same in Roarke this time around too. Or maybe it could be I just took such a long break from the books that I feel like it's all new. lol.

But really when Eve tried to go the extra step and show Roarke how much she loves him I laughed, felt nervous for/with her, and just loved seeing how much they mean to each other.

The highlight of this book for me? Peabody, McNabe, and Monroe! OMG let me tell you, I was skimming through looking for more on them and then would go back all excited cause I knew more was coming. I don't even know who I like more, McNab or Monroe. I thought I was all for McNab but Monroe touches my heart too. Even though he is a man whore. lol. But Roarke said he's put his money on McNab, and he's not known to lose.

I don't know how J.D. Robb does it though. I laugh, cry and am on the edge of my seat the entire time I read her books. Oh and not to mention am Hot hot hot! Usually when I read a book I take for granted how much work goes into it. But not with these books. I can't fathom how she comes up with all these ideas, and the twists. Then all the stuff she makes up in her world years away from now. It just blows my mind.

This book will go down as one of my all time favorites. Tonight while laying in bed with my husband I actually turned to him and said...."I just want to read that book all over again, I can't stop thinking about it. Usually I have them figured out but she had me till the last second with this one. I want to reread it to see if I can pick up the clues."

In ending I leave you with a few of my favorite parts. If you've read the book you'll know what I"m talking about, if not MOVE YOUR ASS TO THE STORE! Or library, like me, I'm trying to be thrifty. But anyway, here they are:

Peabody drunk, Feeney's cologne, Eve with her candy thief, and Eve selecting dinner ware for her night with Roarke.

Grade~ A+++

(I'll review Loyalty later, I'm not feeling the creative juices flowing on that one right now. lol)

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

2007-02-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

Choose: A quick death . . . or slow poison . . .

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace -- and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear . . .

Holly Says:

Before I go into my review, I just want to say...isn't that cover amazing? I think it's beautiful.

I first read about this book on Samantha's blog and I was intrigued by it. Her review made me anxious to read it, and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest by it.

Poison Study is the first person tale of Yelena, a woman sentenced to death for murdering the son of a high ranking General in Ixia (North). On the day she's to be executed, she's brought before The Commander's first in command, Valek, to confess her crimes. Instead, Valek offers her the position of food taster for the Commander. She's put on the spot: Die now, or possibly die later by poison. She chooses the possible poison. Yelena says that only a fool wouldn't accept, and that she is no fool.

The training of a food taster really surprised me. She was forced to sample a lot of different poisons so that she could recognize them in the Commander's meals, some of which leave her so ill she's incoherent for days. And if she survives her training, there's a good possibility she won't survive a plot to murder the Commander.

As Yelena finds out more and more about what's going on around her the entire picture changes, and she's forced to look deep inside herself for strength she isn't sure she possesses. Not only that, but a traitorous plot is revealed and Yelena seems to be right in the middle of it. Plus, the General whose son she murdered isn't happy to wait around and see if she dies by poison.

As the story develops, and I was shown more and more of Yelena's world, I was completely drawn in. And just when I thought I'd figured out what was going on, a new revelation would occur and I'd have to review everything I thought I knew about the story and characters. It truly made me think, which doesn't happen that often.

I also have to tell you that the romance was just an added bonus. When I first started reading, I didn't even think this was a romance novel. But as I watched Yelena fall in love (no, I won't tell you who with, read it and find out for yourselves), I was pleasantly surprised!

I truly admired the way MVS brought in new characters, as well. Though there are several by the end of the book, they were introduced gradually and I never felt overwhelmed or like there was too much going on at once. There was also a magical element to this story that I didn't expect, but which, I felt, was also an added bonus.

Overall I was extremely impressed. So much so that I immediately ordered the second installment, Magic Study.

As a first novel, I'd say Maria V. Snyder certainly left her mark. I highly recommend this book and look forward to more from MVS in the future.

4.75 out of 5 ( I didn't give it a full 5 stars because I had no idea it was the first book in a trilogy)

Poison Study
Magic Study

Isabel's Turn

I enjoyed this book. I started it last night and finished this morning. Because I had know what was going to happen. Would romance blossom between her and certain someone? What was criollo? A drug. I had to know.

I thought it was interesting how she went through the training to become a food tasters. Tasting the different poisons. The most deadly making her ill for a couple of days. The staff would bet on if Yelena would survive or not.

I liked her friendships with Ari and Janco. Loved how protective they were of her. They taught her to trained her to fight. When she became ill from tasting poison, they took turns watching her. It was very sweet.

There isn't a whole lot of romance, but you can feel it building it up. The twists and turns of the plot were also good and kept me guessing. I can't wait for Magic Study, the sequel to Poison Study to come out in paperback.

Grade: A-

Dylan's Turn:

Hero: Valek
Heroine: Yelena
Category: Paranormal
Grade: B+

So Yelena is up for execution because she killed a man. Before she is executed, she's offered a job as The Commander's Food Taster, she has to taste his food to make sure there aren't any poisons that would kill the Commander. She has to become an expert on poisons and Valek takes her under his wing and trains her in the art of poison. She proves herself time and time again to him and the book ends with me hoping to read more in the second book, Magic Study.

I liked this book a lot. I loved seeing Yelena's character grow in self confidence as the book wore on. I loved watching her stand up for herself and not having anyone fight her battles for her. I loved the friendship that blossomed between her, Janco and Ari. It was genuine and I enjoyed it. I loved how her relationship with Valek progressed throughout the entire story. They went from being very wary of each other to missing one another and then to loving each other. That was great, I got all giddy when Valek told Yelena that he was having criollo sent up to our room...hehe, it was great! The characters were great, the storyline was fantastic and all the espionage and spy stuff had me guessing right up until the last page.

Great stuff!

What I didn't like about the book was that it took a long time for the story to take off. It was slow to start for me but I'm glad I stuck with it. Another thing was Valek's tests, that man would drive me up the wall, though I thought he was a sexy man with his fierceness in the battlefield. All the tests he put everyone through and how he was so complex, it had me secondguessing him throughout the whole book...that could be a good thing, keeping me on my toes but it annoyed me some in the book. Aside from the slow start and the constant tests, I loved it!

I would totally recommend this book to anyone, it's great stuff, I promise!

Segregation and Racism in the Romance Community

2007-02-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

I'm very opinionated. This is no secret. Have you read my ~~rants~~ posts here on SF? When something bothers me, or resonates with me, I'm very vocal about it.

Jane has a very interesting post up at Dear Author, regarding the reading of African-American romance.

First, let me clarify something before I go on: I still have no idea if we're talking about (by we, I mean Romancelandia) authors who are AA or characters who are AA. Maybe someone can help me out with that.

Basically, her post states that she hasn't actively searched out AA romances. And she admitted that she's a bit shamed by this. I haven't either..but I'm not ashamed.

Let me explain why.

I don't care if the author/characters are AA. Not one little bit. I don't look at the jacket picture of a book to see what the author looks like before I buy a book. I care about storyline, character development and the author's ability to draw me into her world. I have absolutely no idea what the ethnicity of the authors I read are. Well, some I do, because they have a picture on the jacket, or a blurb about themselves in the back of the book.

But for the most part? No idea.

Does that make me racist? I don't believe it does. I think it's more racist to actively seek out a book by an AA person than to just read what appeals to me.

Jane asks if we should institute a rule in Romancelandia, stating we read at least one different ethnic book at month. Maybe that would bring more AA (and others outside of our own ethnicities) authors/stories into the mainstream. But, well, the idea offends me.

I've read some novels featuring AA H/H's. Not many, no, but some. And it didn't bother me at all. Not one single bit. And I've seen some covers at my local bookstores (B&N and Borders) with African American's on the cover. I've picked them up and read the back blurb. If the story appeals to me, I buy it. If it doesn't, I put it back. Race has nothing to do with it.

Why should I buy a book solely based on the color of the characters in it, or the color of the author who wrote it? Shouldn't I buy a romance novel based solely on the storyline?

Which brings me to the point of my post.

We don't need to institute a policy in Romancelandia to get us to read different ethnic novels. What we need to do is write to our booksellers and publishing houses and ask them not to segregate a story by the color of it's characters/author. Would I read more AA novels if they were in the regular romance section? Absolutely. Why? Because it's there for me to pick up and browse through.

What I suppose I don't understand, however, is why they're separated in the first place. I admit that I don't know enough about the inner workings of a publishing house to even speculate on this. Is it because, as Ro suggested on Sybil's blog:

But there’s a double-edged sword in this entertainment industry: african-americans dearly want something to call “their own”. White america is the dominant “culture” and immigrant communities are bonded by their common languages and customs–but black people? We’re left out in the cold, a bit forlorn as we grasp for something that isn’t “tainted” by the past history of this country. Hence, institutions like HBCU, BET, or the imprints for african-american fiction,etc exist.

She goes on to say:

But they end up hurting everyone, and we’re left with explosive situations such as this one. The frustrations and fears of a mid-list/new author struggling to break into mainstream is tripled in the black writer who would like their work to be viewed outside of the “black niche market”. But their desire is ignored simply because they’re black, and they’re published under that imprint(Dafina, Kimani Press, etc) whose marketing plan is the same for every author simply because the aforementioned niche exists.

So, if I'm understanding correctly, publishing houses are forcing authors to publish their books based on their "niche", which in this case would be AA romance. That doesn't make sense to me.
You're telling me that because the characters of a certain novel have skin that isn't white, they're published under certain "lines" at publishing houses? Well, that's what we need to address.

If the "niche" Ro was referring to is, for an example, Urban romance, I can see that. Just as I can see the need for erotic lines and paranormal and etc. But if an author's work is being published in that specific line simply because her novels feature black h/h's, well, that's wrong. And we, as readers, should protest this.

But I have to wonder if it isn't the AA authors themselves who have brought this on. If you're an author, can you tell me, do you want to be known as a black author, or simply as an author? I don't think you can have it both ways.

If you want to be known as an AA author, if you feel that's your niche, and you're excited about being published by an all black publishing house, than great. But don't complain that you want entry into mainstream then. Because you can't have your cake and eat it, too.

If that's not the case, however, and your publisher won't let you break out of the "niche" area, then let us know. We, as readers, can be very powerful. And I, for one, have no problem writing letters to publishers and booksellers.

Now, what we all really want to know is:

Racism In Publishing, How Does It Affect You?

Are you an African American author who’s been published for at least one year? If so Karen Scott wants to hear from you.

She’s conducting a survey based on the racism within the publishing industry, and whether or not it’s as prevalent as some believe. She’s looking for black or African American authors who have been published for at least one year.

She would like to know about your specific experiences within the industry thus far. She wants to know how AA authors feel about the current shelving policies, and niche marketing. She wants to know who you feel is to blame for the problems that you face. She also wants your suggestions on how things can be improved upon.

In all, there are twenty questions in the survey, and all that she asks is that people be as honest as possible. Confidentiality is assured if requested, but for the findings to yield more weight, she would request that she be granted permission to directly quote from the answers given by the authors.

She’s hoping to poll at least 100 AA authors, in an effort to ensure that a fair representation is achieved.

If enough authors agree to participate, (and depending on the findings) the results may well be sent to representatives within media and press. No promises that Oprah will hear about it, but all efforts will be made to get the message out.

If there are AA authors out there interested in participating in this poll, please e-mail Karen at hairylemony @ gmail. com (without the spaces) with the subject header ‘Please send me the survey'.

The deadline for the survey to be completed and returned to Karen is March 1st 2007

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

2007-02-07T20:10:00.000-08:00

Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balance precariously on the point of a knife -- between desire and danger.
Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

Oh my God. I love this book. Thanks to Mailyn and Holly who pimped it. Thanks to Jazz who bought it for me. I LOVE YOU ALL!

I love this book. I made the mistake of starting it at night after watching Top Chef. Made myself put it down so I could get some sleep. Took with me to work and got very little done. I kept reading paragraphs here and there. I seriously considered leaving work early so I could finish the book.

The story just sucked me in. It is told from Bella's point of view which I enjoyed. Not every author can make first person pov work. Kind of bugged me cause there were times I wanted to know what Edward was thinking. However according to the website, Stephanie Meyer is rewriting Twilight from Edward's point of view. It will be titled Midnight Sun. YAY!

Other then one moment, I loved Bella. When she learns Edward is vampire, it doesn't really phase her. She just asks questions about about it. Even asks if she can watch him hunt. Which shocks Edward. He tells her she should be afraid. The one moment where she does have her TSTH, I totally forgive her for though. Because I understand why she did what she did. What I also thought was cute is she's clumsy and accident prone. Poor Thing. Edward is constantly telling her to be careful.

I love Edward. I want him. I want to do a million naughty things to him over and over. Hot damn. I don't know where to even begin to describe him and do him justice. He's just wonderful. Funny, caring, concerned, tender, serious, tortured. You don't even know how tortured. The first day he meets Bella he wants her blood. He explains her blood just smelled so sweet. In the excerpt of Midnight Sun, he actually thinks of ways to kill Bella. Morbid, I know. But he controls the blood lust, he fights it. He ends up falling in love with her. At prom he tells Bella, "He called you pretty. That's practically an insult, the way you look now. You're much more than beautiful."

Edward is vampire but he's different. For instance, these vampires don't have fangs or get all fangy when they bite. (A la Angel in the Buffy series) They just have sharp teeth. They can also go out in the sun, but they try and avoid it. Edward can also read minds, but he can't read Bella's. It's very frustrating for him.

There is a sequel to the book. New Moon. However, I hear Edward is hardly in it. There is also another book to come, Eclipse. I've read on her website that this is supposed to be an on going series. Which to me kind of sucks. I do want to read more about Edward and Bella, but I don't want the series to go on and on. You know what mean? I have my HEA for Edward and Bella imagined in my mind. I afraid if I keep reading, it'll ruin it. Or I'll just get frustrated saying "WHEN WILL THEY BE TOGETHER! Also the books are being released once a year.

Read this book. It's awesome people.

Grade: A

Dylan's Turn:

Hero: Edward Cullen
Heroine: Bella Swan
Category: Paranormal
Page Count: A lot
Grade: A

This book was fantabulous!

I was hooked from the very beginning and more than a little intrigued by Edward Cullen and the rest of his family that sat at the far table and kept to themselves. The pale creatures that everyone was afraid of and yet all loved and envied because they were so damn beautiful.

I inhaled this book and am quite astonished at how fast this book became my favorite. It's my favorite book of 2007 (for me since this book didn't come out this year) and I am so hot damn eager to start New Moon, which I ran out and bought right after I finished this book. It was that good for me.

Where to start? I loved Edward. I loved how Bella got to know him, I loved how when he decided to stop running from her, how strong he became because he withheld from the temptation to kill Bella so many times because he wanted her blood that much, I loved how he wanted to hurt her just as much as he wanted to save her from himself and herself because she was a total klutz. I loved how he took care of Bella and how he loved her. I loved the way he dazzled everyone and most importantly I loved reading the excerpt from Midnight Sun on Stephanie Meyer's site where we see Bella's first day of school through Edward's eyes. Oh how I love this vampire. He is SO the bomb.

I really liked Bella too...she was the bomb DOT com. Even when she did well, read it and find out, I wasn't that mad at her.

But more importantly, I loved Edward. hehe.

This book was really good, it had a good storyline and hot damn it was addicting...make sure you guys read this book, seriously..it's the bomb.

The Seduction of His Wife by Janet Chapman

2007-02-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

He set out to seduce her for all the wrong reasons -- but found himself falling in love with her for all the right ones.
Alex Knight is dead -- or so everyone thinks. A widowed logger baron with a risk-taking streak, he took on a South American engineering project and was reported dead after a rebel attack. So when he turns up back in Maine very much alive, his grieving family is shocked. But the biggest shock is Alex's, when he discovers he's now married -- to a woman he's never met.

Sarah Banks is ready for a change from running a quiet Bed & Breakfast, and working for the Knight family offers not only a bigger opportunity, but also the family life she yearns for. So she's glad to help secure custody of Alex's orphaned children, whom she's come to love, by marrying their father by proxy before he's legally declared dead. But when Alex returns, the sexy, determined woodsman upends all of Sarah's plans. Because suddenly she's married to a passionate stranger with an easy smile...and tumbling headlong into a fiery dance of seduction.

I really really enjoyed this book! I mean really, when it was over I kept wishing I was still reading it. And not for any out of this world reason. It was just a good, funny, romantic read. I have really grown to love Janet Chapman and the way she writes. If I'm correct I think most, if not all, of her books are based in Maine. Which is where she lives. Maybe that is why they are all so real, you can feel the place and fall in love with it. Even without going overboard with descriptions, which she does not do. And she usually has kids in her books too. Sometimes this can really put a damper on a story but not a JC book. It makes them so .... warm and definitely adds some funny quirks. Also I love series and she does great ones. The Pine Creek Highlander series (must reads I loved them all): Charming the Highlander, Loving the Highlander, Wedding the Highlander, Tempting the Highlander and Only with a Highlander. Then her Puffin Harbor Series: The Seductive Impostor and The Dangerous Protector. And now this book which I don't know the name of the series yet but I know is one. So do you think I can stop raving on JC and get to the review? Well okay if you insist. lol.

Sarah Kelley has had a hard and sheltered life. She lived on a island (born and raised) and only knew the bed & breakfast her parents ran. When she is fairly young both her parents die within a few years. She falls into a loveless marriage at the age of 17 and some years later finds herself widowed. When Grady Knight comes to her B&B with his grandchildren and sons he offers her a deal she can't refuse. Soon she is moving to the woods of Main to keep house for this family with a promise of a Sporting Camp for her to run. But things turn for the worse when the Knight family thinks they lost their oldest and the father of Grady's two grandchildren. Alex is presumed dead so in order to save his grandchildren from being drug through courts and fights with their other grandparents he has Sarah married to Alex by proxy before anyone knows he's dead, and she adopts the children. Only Alex isn't really dead....imagine his surprise when after running for his life in a jungle in Brazil for over a week he comes home to find himself married! He was married once to a money hungry woman that left him and his kids, and no thank you he doesn't need a new wife. And one night of a little to much to drink and a hot dream turn Alex and Sarah into lovers the tables turn. Alex asks Sarah to give the situation some time, if they act to quickly everyone will know Grady forged the papers and he'll get into trouble. But as time passes and Alex learns that Sarah isn't the quite little mouse he thought her to be he starts to think a divorce is the last thing he wants. But as Alex tries to convince his wife to stay just that he not only has to battle her demons of her past marriage but also a mystery person or persons that are invading his mountain trying to destroy his families business.
And one of Alex's forms of seduction? He reads Sarah's romance books! And when she finds herself bedridden for a little bit he reads them to her. And they are none other than the Puffin Harbor Series by JC.

This book will have you laughing while you cheer on Alex with his seduction of his wife. And Grady's sometimes not so subtle match-making schemes. But not to worry, I might have wanted this book to go on forever but I'll get more in February. The second book in the series is coming. The Temptation of Her Love, Ethan's book. Then we have Paul the biggest flirt. And who knows maybe Tucker and Delaney will get their own stories, Alex's children. I can hope!

Oh and one of the only things I didn't like about this book? It isn't even related to the story. It was the cover. I actually really like the cover, but the mans RIGHT hand is in the picture and there's a wedding ring on it! You wear your wedding ring on the LEFT hand. HELLO! Sorry but that really bothered me.

Grade~ B+ (would have been a A but Sarah did annoy me a little at one point. But she made up for it.)

Dylan's Turn:

Hero: Alex Knight
Heroine: Sarah Knight
Category: Contemporary
Page Count: 258 pages
Grade: A

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

This book had me all warm and fuzzy all over. I didn't want to finish reading it but couldn't help myself, I just zipped through this book like my life depended on how fast I can read this story. I swear being picky on new authors and new books in general is the way to go because the books that I've always been scared of reading because I didn't think I'd enjoy are the very same books that I've read and just absolutely fell in love with!

I wonder when my luck will run out.

I absolutely loved this book and loved the characters. I loved the setting, the storyline and I loved the Knight family.

Alex was a fanastic hero. And the way he was trying to be the best hero for Sarah totally won me over because you don't meet many guys who will willingly read a romance novel and then try to seduce his wife with the things he learned in the book.

It was so cute.

I loved Sarah, I thought she was a great heroine and she was perfect for Alex, but not just Alex. She was perfect for little Tucker and Delaney. She needed them just as much as they needed her. She loved the Knight family with all that she had and she took good care of them. It was fabulous to read about the love she had for them and the love that was returned unto her.

I loved Grady and his manipulative ways. I loved the fierce devotion he had for his sons and grandkids and I love how his heart was still big enough to love his new daughter in law, Sarah. I won't tell you guys how the storyline is, since Jazz already took care of that, but I really did like this book and I know you guys will too. Delaney was great, the whole fishing scene was too cute and I'm so glad that Delaney stuck with her "Mom"...it was so great and then Tucker's determination to see his Dad's marriage to his Mom as right and real, just stole a little piece of my heart. Gosh this was good.

Thanks to Daphne, Jazz and Grace for pimping this book to me and holy goodness, ya'll need to read this book...because there's more where this came from.

Ethan Knight, who is Alex Knight's brother gets his book next and I cannot wait for that. Jazz, Daphne, do you guys know when Ethan's book comes out? I'm so looking forward to that.

I loved the Knight brothers, Alex, Ethan and Paul. I loved the whole sense of family they had, you guys know that I'm sucker for family storylines and this one was one of them that just had me wrapped up in the story, it was just fantastic!

Read it, now!

Isabel's Take

I didn't care for it. Sarah bugged me. The story didn't really grab me. I liked how Alex were reading the romance novels together. I thought that was cute and how Alex highlighted all the love scenes. When Alex tries to teach Sarah to drive, that was funny.

Other than that, Meh.

Grade: C

Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern

2007-02-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

From naughty children to rebellious teenagers, Rosie and Alex have stuck by each other through thick and thin. But just as as they're discovering the joys of teenage nights on the town and dating disasters, they're separated. Alex's family move from Dublin to America - and Alex goes with them. For good.

Rosie's lost without him. But on the eve of her departure to join Alex in Boston, Rosie gets news that will change her life forever - and keep her at home in Ireland.

Their magical connection sees them through the ups and downs of each others lives, but neither of them knows whether their friendship can survive the years and miles - or new relationships.

And at the back of Rosie's mind is whether they were meant to be more than just good friends all along. Misunderstandings, circumstances and sheer bad luck have kept them apart, but when presented with the ultimate opportunity, will they gamble everything for true love?

After reading PS I Love You, I raced out and put my name down at the library for Cecilia Ahern's other books because I just *had* to read them. And today just happened to be my day..so I picked up Where Rainbows End, raced home and started to read it. Now let me tell you..by the third chapter I had probably laughed out loud at least sixteen times. No joke. I just couldn't help myself. The things that Rosie and Alex said when they were but 5 years old..oh it's priceless.

At first, I thought the first chapter of "letters" between Alex and Rosie was just the authors' way of introducing us to the characters and setting the scene..but after the first 5 chapters being the same as the first, I quickly flicked forward (without looking too closely and spoiling the story) and I realised that the entire book was made up of letters, emails, IM-ing, and various other communications like that to tell the story. I was a bit skeptical with this form of story telling and I wondered if any author could pull it off. But amazingly, even though the story was told in letter/email and whatever else format, I was still thoroughly engrossed by the story.

There was not one page in this book that I wasn't cheering on Alex and Rosie wishing and hoping they they'd finally sort through the obstacles and just be together. But I guess Cecilia must like to torture her readers, because I was in absolute agony the entire time..becoming giddy with excitement at the possibility that their HEA is on the rise, and then to have it come crashing down because life happened.

Seriously, I love the whole "The One That Got Away" and the "Best Friend is my soul mate" type plots..but towards the end of this one, I didn't know if my heart could take any more separation between Alex and Rosie. It was so obvious that they needed to be together. I understand that things happen that alter our course in life, but oh my gosh, did Rosie and Alex have so many life changing moments that affected their HEA! I just wanted to shout: Enough already! Haven't they been through enough to prove that they belong together?! I was so upset for them and their missed opportunity. No really, I felt like I was the one being deprived of my HEA.

Personally, I would have been far happier if Alex and Rosie finally sorted through everything a few years earlier than they did, because wow..their battle for love was such a long and hard one. I only wish that they spent of that time together, than trying to sort through their lives.

But even though I would have liked a HEA sooner, I still liked this one very much. I laughed out loud alot, especially in the earlier chapters and I became very teary eyed when I read some entries. You'll see what I mean when and if you read this one. I'd love to say I'd want everyone to read this one..but this one might not be everyone's cup of tea. There's alot of bad timing and life changing consequences from one error in judgement..so you've been warned. But if you can handle that, then I'd say..definitely pick this one up to read.

4/5

Dylan's Review:

Hero: Alex Stewart
Heroine: Rosie Dunne
Category: Chick Lit
Page Count: 400+
Grade: B++

Sometimes you've got to get things wrong a few times before you can get them right.

First off, I didn't think this was the same book that Grace reviewed a while back because it had a different title, but then I started reading the book and by page 7, I was laughing out loud and grinning from cheek to cheek, knowing this was the same book that she was talking about.

I swear, this story was one gigantic emotional rollercoaster for me. I loved it just as much as I hated it and I think I hated the book because it took them SO long to get things right. They just kept going round and round and I didn't know how much I could take anymore.

I totally picked this book up on accident, thinking I was just going to see what the story was like, just kind of browse through this book because I had already just started The Stranger In Her Bed by Janet Chapman.

But I forgot all about Ethan's book (I know the scandal, huh Grace and Jazz?) once I started reading this book. I was so engrossed in this book that my niece, Chloe who is not a reader begged me last night to hurry and finish the book so that she can read it for school. She needs an SSR book and thinks this book will be just perfect for her.

I loved seeing Alex and Rosie grow from young snot nosed kids with magicians at their parties to elementary school kids who hated double maths on Monday. I loved reading all about Rosie's 16th birthday and the trouble that Alex and Rosie got into. I loved everything about this book, except the big IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH crap that kept them from each other, for all those years.

This story, the best friends falling in love storyline is one of my all time favorites and the one that got away, well yeah Grace can tell you all about how much I just love this storylines (it's a storyline love that we both share) and this one fit those both to the tee.

It was great just as it was horrible that so many things got in between these two being together. Cecilia Ahern did a fantastic job of wrapping me up in Alex and Rosie's world, because I was rootin' them on since the beginning, after the book ended though, I felt emotionally drained and I called Grace crying because I was so happy and so worn out by the book, but by golly I did love the book and Alex...gosh I loved me some Alex, even when he was being such a dummy head...

Go read this book! Gosh I want to experience the "silence".

*sigh*

Every Breath You Take by Judith McNaught

2007-02-03T01:17:00.000-08:00

Hero: Mitchell Wyatt
Heroine: Kate Donovan
Category: Contemporary
Page Count: 485 pages
Grade: A

Unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and riveting suspense: These are the trademarks of beloved author Judith McNaught. With millions of devoted fans and ten New York Times bestsellers to date, McNaught is a writer whose work just gets better with each new novel--and Every Breath You Take is the book readers have been waiting for. Returning to the lavish Chicago setting of her popular novel Paradise, and revisiting some of that book's characters as well, this story will captivate in inimitable Judith McNaught style.

High atop a snow-covered hill, the stately old Wyatt mansion is perched like a crown, its stone spires pointing upward, its stained glass windows glowing like colorful jewels. Such opulence means success and, surely, happiness. But on the eve of wealthy philanthropist Cecil Wyatt's eightieth birthday, all the money in the world won't bring back his missing grandson, William Wyatt. The only thing for certain: Foul play was involved.

The family, the police, the media--all have tried in vain to discover the young man's fate. Now suspicion has turned shockingly toward William's own half-brother, the rather distant and enigmatic Mitchell Wyatt.

Kate Donovan never dreamed that a chance romantic encounter on a tropical island paradise would tag her as a suspect in a high-society murder case. But after Kate tangles with the darkly charismatic Mitchell Wyatt, she finds herself cast in a shadow of guilt and mistrust. As the Chicago police tighten their net, it will take all of Kate's ingenuity to clear her name. With her calm, cool wit, and the help of a man who may or may not be a dangerous catch, Kate vows to claim the life and love she desires.

Holy wow I loved this book. I don't care about the unprotected sex, I don't even care about Mitchell's preference in music anymore, I just effing love this book. What I loved most about this book? Seeing old characters that I absolutely LOVE come back and actually have a role in the book. To see all of my old favorites back in action, with Matt and Meredith Farrell, Zack and Julie Benedict, holy goodness Zack Benedict is one of MY favorite JM men, holy goodness it was just fanfreakin'tastic to see them all again. I loved loved LOVED IT!

But it was more than that, I started off annoyed that JM's heroes were so lofty, reserved and cultured...just once I want to read about a JM hero who is normal, someone I can see falling in love with and actually having a chance with, but the further I got into the book, the less I cared about all of that stuff. JM just took all of those thoughts away with the rest of the story.

Kate and Mitchell meet on the small island of Anguilla and they have a memorable few days together and then JM busts a reminiscent storyline of Perfect by making Mitchell a suspect in the murder of his brother but then later on, he busts a Paradise and there's a long ass gap between the last time Kate and Mitchell saw each other and the time they see each other again...talk about DRAMA!

I loved it.

My most favorite part was the end...his answer to the priest at their wedding (ya'll knew they were going to get married, hello??? It IS a romance) and the phrase that he has engraved in her wedding band, gosh I loved me some Mitchell Wyatt. He was so friggin' awesome. I loved that though he was pissed to high heaven with Kate after all that time and then the events that led up to him seeing her again after all those years, to see his hatred for her melt away filled me with such tenderness for him that I just wanted to gobble him up!

And with Kate, there were times that I wanted to Daniel son karate kick her in the face but more than anything, I understood her reaction, I didn't agree with it but given the circumstances that surrounded her decisions (the first batch of decisions) I didn't really blame her. But that second batch of decisions, I was disappointed in her but when Mitchell forgave her, I did too...because of her reasons.

Oh I just loved this book to pieces...Gracie girl, if you haven't read this book, I implore you to read it because it was the hot diggity bizomb and I just KNOW that you won't be disappointed, but dude did you read this already? If you did, why didn't I know about it? Gosh this book was the bomb, LOVED IT!

Do Fat Girls Need Love Too?

2007-02-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

It has come to our attention that some of our readers/lurkers took issue with one of my (Dylan) reviews, Good In Bed by Jennifer Weiner. Their issue is something we here at Sanctuary's Finest have discussed amongst ourselves before. So let me start by asking you guys a question.

Do you guys like reading books with large heroines?

Several heroines come to mind when thinking about this topic. There's Minn Dobbs from Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me, Bride McTierney from Sherrilyn Kenyon's Night Play and from one of the latest books I've read, Heather Wells from Meg Cabot's Heather Wells Series. Now all of these heroines were not the skinny model types, they were solid, plus size women that we see everyday around town.

Some of us may be plus size women ourselves and there's nothing wrong with that, I don't hate, I congratulate but what I want to know is it's one thing to be friends with plus size women and to be a plus size woman but would you want to read about these same kinds of plus size women getting their freaky freak on with the hottie hero in our books?

Do you or don't you?

I personally have no qualms about reading books with large women starring in them. It's one of those non issues for me. Now, I won't say that incredulous thoughts like, "Yeah right, these gorgeous stud muffin guys that ALL women are fawning over is going to choose and fall in love with so and so plus size heroine.." don't pop into my head from time to time because they do. As much as I would LOVE to believe something like that (I'm not a small girl, let me tell you), I just don't see it happening. Most all of the men that I come in contact with at work, at Church and just around town are all fawning over and falling in love with the Heidi Klums and the Jessica Alba's of the world. Women like Sara Ramirez and Queen Latifa, who are beautiful women, don't get the attention and the adoration that other women (Heidi Klum and Jennifer Lopez) do. At least we don't see it very often.

I'm not saying that men don't love large women but most men usually go for smaller women and to prove my point, we've asked 10 different men that we know (very good looking men too) if they'd give a larger woman the time of day against a skinny model type woman.

My brother, Pete, who is one of those extremely handsome men that girls just can't help but fall in love with, had this to say on the matter, "If she pays like she weighs then she can stay, baby!" and after some scolding on my part, finished on a more serious note saying, "Honestly, larger women don't even make it to my radar. But it depends on what you think is fat, I don't consider you (me, Dylan) fat, but you think you're fat so everyone has their own interpretation of what is fat. Now if we're talking sizes, then I'd say anything over a size 16 is fat and no, I probably wouldn't try to get at her."

That seems to be the general consensus from all the men we polled. "No, we don't even look at larger women." Is that right? No, not necessarily, but it is reality. Whether it's society, or the way we were brought up, or whatever, weight does factor in when it comes to attraction.

Are there exceptions? Absolutely. But the normal response from a man is the one you see above.

To take this a step further I (Holly) surveyed women, asking what they're typical fantasy weight is. The average response? Size 7. As a follow up, I asked them how they see themselves when they fantasize about the perfect man. One of my best friends, who's probably a size 14 said, "Oh, girl, I see myself as all kinds of skinny, and more beautiful than anyone else in the world. Is that real? Hell no, but this is my fantasy, right? I can be whatever I want to be."

In my opinion, that's what it comes down to. Fantasy. I think one of the reasons larger women are scarce in romance novels is that no one, whether your small and petite, or large and in charge, really fantasizes about being big. Are there exceptions to this? YES! But I would imagine that if we (as women) were totally honest, no matter what our sizes are right this second, in a perfect world - a fantasy world - we'd be a size 2 and so gorgeous we'd blind me.

I'm not saying that's reality, but it's fantasy. And that's what romance novels are, the ultimate fantasy. A romance novel offers us a chance to escape to another world, where the fat girl gets skinny and grabs her man, or the beautiful woman who's abused by her family is rescued by the dazzling, orgasmic, fantastically hot hero. In our own personal fantasies, I'd be willing to bet that we don't picture ourselves at 500 pounds. So why do we want to read a book about it?

Personally? I don't care. It doesn't bother me one bit if the heroine is bigger than a size 3. I actually prefer a more "normal" looking heroine. A size 12 is the national average, you know.

But other women, Jazz included, prefer not to read about that. We could start some psycho-babble bullshit and say it's because they aren't comfortable with themselves, but I don't believe that. I believe that it all just comes down to personal preference.

For myself, I may not mind a bigger heroine, but man, I cannot stand it when a heroine is older than her hero. Especially if the main focus of the story is their age difference. I don't want to read about a heroine who happens to think the hero is "young enough to be her son". Sorry, doesn't work for me. Does that mean other people agree? Nope. I happen to have some very close friends who prefer that particular storyline, but it's not for me.

And you know what? That's fine. You have your preferences and I have mine. That doesn't make either one of us wrong, just different, and there's nothing wrong with that.

To be totally honest, I would actually prefer to see more "large" women featured in romance novels. Why? Because it makes it more real. When I read Night Play and Bet Me, my heart melted because those heroines weren't a perfect size 5, and those heroes loved them - all of them - for who they were. It didn't matter to Cal one bit that Min was larger than average, and Vane's comment to Bride when she asked him to make her skinny had me tearing up (won't spoil it for those who haven't read it, but man was it touching!). I love that.

Same with He Loves Lucy by Susan Donovan and Jemmima J by Jane Greene. Those heroines were bigger than "average" too, but I adored reading about them - sex scenes and all.

What it all comes down to is personal preference. You have yours and I have mine. What I might like, you might hate. That's ok. That makes us different. And you know what? That helps authors sell books. If we all liked the same thing no one would get published, right?

But I'm curious, what's too much fantasy and too much reality? You tell me. What exactly do we want in our novels? Are we ok with large heroines and short heroes? Do we want rich men and poor women? Are we too demanding? Is it possible to strike a good balance between fantasy and reality?

Guest Blogger: Kim Howe

2007-02-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

We want to thank aspiring writer Kim Howe for visiting with us yesterday. Learning about the American Title contest and her personal Kill Me Off contest was wonderful.

Don't forget to stop by the contest site and vote for your favorite, and be sure to enter Kim's contest, too.

Thanks Kim, we loved having you here.

GOOD LUCK!

Holly (and the rest at SF)

The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe

2007-02-01T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hero: Christoff Langford (aka Kit)

Heroine: Clarissa Rue Hawthorne (aka Rue)

Category: Historical/Paranormal

Page Count: 324 pages

Grade: C

Dubbed the Smoke Thief for a series of daring jewel thefts, Clarissa Rue Hawthorne didn't expect the dra´kon leader himself to come to London dangling the tribe's most valuable jewel as bait: the Langford Diamond. But Christoff, the charismatic Marquess of Langford, had to catch Clarissa before anyone else did- or risk exposing the entire clan to the world of ordinary mortals. He never expected that the outcast halfling he pursued would have a proposition of her own to save the dra´kon- a proposition so dangerous, so tempting, that Christoff will find it impossible to resist: to join forces with her.To be honest, I only bought this book for two reasons: 1) the cover looked cool 2) it has received many positive reviews. I really wanted to love this book. I was itching for a good paranormal at the time and I was hoping this would be another series I could reread over and over.

Unfortunately, I just could not get into it, and I felt like toward the end I had to force myself to finish. It didn't reach the point to where I wanted to throw the book against the wall, but nothing exciting happened to keep me reading in the wee hours of the morning. The concept was great, it's what intrigued me in the first place. The hero and heroine are both dra´kons, species that can shift forms from human to smoke to dragon, and back. The prologue was longer than what I'm used to, and I felt that Abe has a talent for creating a history of the dra´kon race for the readers. The problem was that the prologue was just too long. By the fifth page of the prologue I was lost. Abe went through too many generations of the dra´kon and there were too many descriptions and names of places that were never brought up again in the story.

The first few chapters started out great. Rue was a child who always loved Kit from afar, but maintained a low profile in her clan. Kit was destined to be the Alpha Male, loved by all the women. Then Rue decided to stage her own death in order to escape the clan, start a new life and bury her past. When Kit catches Rue trying to steal the Langford diamond, the two decide to join forces in order to find the real thief. Rue agrees to help in exchange for her freedom, that she not be punished for staging her death and abandoning the clan. For me, this is where the story started to fall flat. Kit finds out that Rue is the first female dra´kon in four generations who can "Turn," or shift to the dragon form. This automatically makes her the Alpha female, and now Kit must have her.

I didn't feel any romantic connection, mostly because Kit just wanted Rue since she was Alpha female. He didn't seem to care why Rue valued her freedom so much. All he cared about was claiming her. Case in point...."Rape or seduction. He would take either." Yah, I didn't really like reading those words.Another thing that I disliked (though some may disagree) was the elaborate descriptions of the hero and heroine when they were in smoke or dragon form. For example, "His talons found her shoulders and hips...For a few wondrous minutes, as long as the wind cradled them, they were one creature, four wings, two tails, his head by hers, their cheeks touching." I personally, don't find dragon descriptions very romantic. I will probably read the next book in the series, The Dream Thief, for the sake of finishing the series. However, I don't think my expectations will be so high like they were for The Smoke Thief. I would be curious to know what other readers thought of this book. For me, it wasn't bad, but it fell short of my expectations.

Your PERSONAL reading preferences

2007-02-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

We all have them, I know I sure do, so spill! Tell me what those one or two things are that bother you soooo much you won't pick up a book if you know it's in there.

Is it a short hero?
A fat heroine?
A bald hero?

How about things that don't even have to do with appearances. Like....

A woman that has an affair?
Or
A woman that makes a choice that you wouldn't. Like Abortion?

I bring this up because it seems I've gotten myself a reputation around here. lol. I don't like reading about fat girls. Sorry. It's not that I think they don't deserve loving, I just don't want a certain image in my mind.

When I read I picture everything. So when it comes time to read about the sex I picture it, call me pervy but I do. And I don't want to picture a fat woman having sex, it is not something that appeals to me.

Am I being judgmental here? No, I am a overweight woman. I don't want to picture someone that looks like me. And I sure don't hate myself. So there it is. Is that so bad?

I have other preferences too. Like I don't like short hero's. It doesn't matter if he is still taller than a heroine cause she's really short. I won't like the book, or it will at least be a really hard sell.

If a woman or man is cheating on a spouse I won't want to read it and if I do I'll have HUGE issues with it. Even if it is with their "true love".

And I know I'm walking a thin line here with stirring shit up but I don't agree with abortion so I really will NOT read a book if I know it is going to be in it.

Personal preferences. That's what they are.

I told you mine, so go ahead...yell at me, agree with me, tell my yours but please.....also tell us who you are when you post.

Have fun with it.

Guest Blogger Kim Howe: American Idol for Writers!

2007-01-31T10:35:00.000-08:00

Reality TV has infiltrated the world of fiction writing! Yes, that’s right. Dorchester Publishing and Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine have teamed up to create the American Title Contest, the fiction writer’s version of American Idol. The contest has crowned two talented writers, Janice Lynn with her hilarious novel, Jane Millionaire, and Gerri Russell with her captivating historical, The Warrior Trainer.

This year, over 250 aspiring writers sent their manuscripts in for consideration. Ten novels, including my romantic suspense One Shot, Two Kills, were given those proverbial golden tickets. The wonderful editor of RT magazine, Liz French, e-mailed or called us to share the exciting news that we were in the top ten of the American Title III Contest!

That’s when the fun started. We prepared excerpts from our novels—our first sentence, short character sketches on our hero and heroine, a story summary, a dialogue scene, and the ever popular love scene. This year, the stories span the full range of contemporary romance, including paranormal, romantic comedies, chick lit, and romantic suspense. The grand prize everyone is shooting for? A publishing contract with Dorchester, including publicity from Romantic Times!

Every month, the excerpts are showcased and critiqued by three judges patterned on American Idol’s Randy, Paula, and infamous Simon. From firsthand experience, I can tell you that Flavia Knightsbridge gives Simon a run for his money on the scathing factor!

Readers of the magazine vote for their favorite submissions. The two contestants with the lowest number of votes are eliminated every round. One Shot, Two Kills has reached the final four! Why not stop by the contest site at http://www.romantictimes.com/news_amtitle.php and vote for your favorite dialogue scene? Hopefully the fiery quips of my sniper heroine will make you smile. :) If you’d like to read the first chapter of the novel, please stop by my website at www.kjhowe.com

Thanks to Sanctuary’s Finest for your warm hospitality. It’s been a pleasure stopping by!

Kim

Guest Blogger Kim Howe: Living or Dead…Get in Print!

2007-01-31T10:20:00.000-08:00

Have you been tuckerized? If not, it’s time you found a way to make it happen. A few of you may be scratching your heads, wondering what I’m talking about. Tuckerization is a long-standing literary tradition, but the problem is recognizing it when you see it!

Maybe telling you my story will help explain. My husband is a big fan of speculative fiction. When the World SF convention was in Toronto, he came home with a big smile on his face, telling me he bought me a present—then the kicker—I don’t get to find out what it is until next year. Okay, you don’t do that to little Miss Curiosity. I quizzed him endlessly, but to no avail. He’s a trial lawyer…nothing penetrates his armor!

The year goes by and I eventually forget about the present (I’m sure it was lingering in my subconscious.) One weekend, while up north at my parent’s cottage, he hands me a fantasy novel and recommends I read it. I’m like…wait a minute…I’m Ms. Suspense! But, being the trusting wife, I dig into the novel, Laura Anne Gilman’s STAYING DEAD. I enjoyed it, found the pacing strong, the characters fascinating. Then…in comes an older woman, an interesting villain…and her name is KimAnn Howe! I start laughing and realize what he has done. During an auction to support medical benefits for writers, my husband bought me a Tuckerism.

A "tuckerism" is the use of a friend's name as a character, place, equipment name, or the like in a story. The term is derived from the actions of Wilson "Bob" Tucker, who initiated this practice in SF books. For example, some of the Star Trek™ novels from Pocket Books are alleged to have names of the author's friends for minor characters.

I was so touched by his gesture. And this character—KimAnn Howe—who was supposed to show up in just one novel has turned into a strong presence in five novels! Okay, does that mean technically I’m multi-published?

Would you like to be a character in a novel? To celebrate making the final four of the American Title competition, I’m running a Kill Me Off contest. Just send me an e-mail via my website www.kjhowe.com with the phrase Kill Me Off and your name. The lucky (???) winner will have his/her namesake suffer an untimely demise in my next novel. And, no, you cannot nominate your boss or mother-in-law! J Yes, I know you won’t last five novels, but I promise to make “your death” memorable!

Here’s to Tuckerisms!

Kim

Guest Blogger: Kim Howe

2007-01-31T10:15:00.000-08:00

Today, American Title III Contest finalist Kim Howe has a agreed to be a guest blogger here at SF. She's going to tell you all about the American Title contest and about herself and the book she's entered into the contest.

She's agreed to be around most of the afternoon, too, so she can answer any questions you have.

Join us, will you?

Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner.

2007-01-30T08:06:00.000-08:00

Hero: ??
Heroine: Candace "Cannie" Shapiro
Category: Chick Lit
Page Count: 300+
Grade: C+

At first my eyes wouldn't make sense of the letters. Finally, they unscrambled. Loving a Larger Woman, said the headline, by Bruce Guberman. Bruce Guberman had been my boyfriend for just over three years, until we'd decided to take a break three months ago. And the larger woman, I could only assume, was me.

Cannie Shapiro never wanted to be famous. The smart, sharp, plus-sized pop culture reporter was perfectly content writing about other people's lives on the pages of the Philadelphia Examiner. But the day she opens up a national women's magazine to find out that her ex-boyfriend has been chronicling their ex-sex life is the day her life changes forever.

Loving a larger woman is an act of courage in our world, Bruce has written. And Cannie — who never knew that Bruce saw her as a "larger woman," or thought that loving her was an act of courage — is plunged into misery, and into the most amazing year of her life.

Radiant with wit, bursting with surprises, and written with bite and bittersweet humor, Jennifer Weiner's deliciously readable debut novel reaches beyond Cannie's story and into the heart of every woman. Gut-level real and laugh-out-loud funny, Good in Bed celebrates the courage of the human spirit, and features an unbelievably funny cast of supporting characters, the strangest dog you'll ever encounter, and a heroine you'll never forget.

This story was told through the eyes of Candace "Cannie" Shapiro, who is a larger woman. She decides that she wants a break from her boyfriend of 3 years, Bruce and then 3 months later, she reads a long with everyone else in the nation, his true feelings for her....in an article about loving a larger woman in one of the nation's leading magazines, sister to the likes of Cosmo, Vogue and you know, those kinds of magazines.

This entire book was Cannie's journey to self discovery and to self love, I guess you can say. We read how Cannie handles herself after the break up and it's many stages, we see Cannie come to grips with the disappearance of her father, we see her grow up basically. And let me tell you, for a few parts of the book, it was slow going for me but I just kept right on truckin' through the book because I was too busy trying to figure out who she ended up with at the end of the book, wondering if Bruce was ever going to get his and I just wanted to know how Cannie turned out.

She turns out great, which can be expected in these books, everything worked out for the best for Cannie, her life turns for the better by the end of the book but everything was dealt with, she dealt with everything that came her way and sometimes I wanted to clobber her over the head with a bat to get her to shut up, other times I cried with her because I felt her pain. Jennifer Weiner did a great job of getting the emotions to leap right off the pages in this book, overall I enjoyed this book and know that those of you guys that decide to read this, will like it.

I did.

But Nicole, you might not like this book since she's a fat chick and she does find love.

Tagged: Some Romance Related Questions

2007-01-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Sybil for this one. Because she sez so....

Contemporary, Historical, or Paranormal?
Contemp. I haven't dug historicals for awhile (with a few exceptions) and I'm burned out on paranormals for now.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?
Mass Market for sure. I'm too cheap to get excited about Hardbacks.

Heyer or Austen?
Austen for sure. I've enjoyed a few Heyer's, but man, nobody beats Austen.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?
Amazon all the way...

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Borders. B&N gets on my nerves. They're selection is less and they aren't very nice to the lesser-knowns. Those bastards.

Woodiwiss or Lindsay?
I'm not a huge fan of either. And I can't really answer this fairly as I've only read one or two from each.

First romance novel you ever remember reading?
Let's see. I think It was a Harlequin. Someone's back in town. But I can't remember the exact title or the author. I did enjoy it, though. That I remember.

Alphabetize by author Alphabetize by title or random?
By author. Then by title, unless there are connecting books, then I put those in order.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?
Always keep. I've thrown away 2 books in my life, and both had been eaten by the dog.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
It gets on my nerves when the dust-jacket has been removed. I always leave it on.

Sookie Stackhouse or Anita Blake?
C none of the above?

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
When tired

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Hmm, either or. I don't care, if the story is good.

Crusie or SEP?
Tie. They're equally good (Syb, read Crusie already!)

Buy or Borrow?
Buy. I have to own it once I've read it, good or bad.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?
Recommendations or Reviews from people I trust. It's hard for me to step outside of my comfort zone and try a new author if I'm not forcibly pushed there.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?
I'm all about the tidy endings. I want everything wrapped up in a nice, neat little bow. I'll make an exception, however, for books I know belong in a series(i.e. JE's Plum's or JDR's In Death's)

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?
Always. Morning, noon or night. I'd read 24/7 if I could.

Series or standalone?
I never used to mind series', but I'm over it right now. Give me a good standalone..NOW!

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Always by Jeane Renick. Fabulous book.

Let's see, who to tag? Meh, I'm lazy..all of you out there who've read this and haven't already done it. Yep, all of you. *evil laugh*