Feature and Follow Friday

Well, it's Friday again and that means it's Feature and Follow Friday...YEA! This is my second week participating and I've already found so many great blogs to read and follow that my list at Bloglovin' is staggering but wonderful.

If you're not familiar with this weekly meme it's all about getting our book blogs out there and finding like minded book bloggers. It is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read and one thing that sets this apart from some of the other blog hops is that they feature a new blogger every week on each of their own blogs. So we get to see 2 freakin' awesome blogs that we might have otherwise missed. This week the featured bloggers are Tsuki's Books and Rotten Apple Reads. Hope you take the time to check out their blogs!

Now for the second thing that makes this hop a bit different from the masses. Every week we have a Feature. This week is....

Q: Activity: Favorite Literary Quote...

Here are mine. Keep in mind that I am a romance reader!

“I no longer believed in the idea of soul mates, or love at first sight. But I was beginning to believe that a very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. Not because he was perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together.”
― Lisa Kleypas (Blue-Eyed Devil)

He kissed the palm of her hand. "It means, you stupid woman, that I am learning too. Now you listen to me. I never stop thinking about you. You're with me everywhere I go but I miss you when we're apart. I've already shown that I will kill for you. I would also die for you. You make me laugh. You make me happy. You're my miracle and my home...I will always come for you, always want you, and always need you. We clear?"She had begun to glow. "Sounds a lot love love to me.”
― Thea Harrison (Dragon Bound) 

“I'll follow you to the next life if I have to,” he whispered harshly in her ear. “You'll never be free of me. I'll chase you through heaven and hell and beyond.”
 ― Lisa Kleypas (Where Dreams Begin)

“Listen, you. Don't threaten me. I could make your life a nightmare." He put his hand in front of her face and unfolded three fingers as he said, "I'm F-B-I."
She smiled. It wasn't the reaction he expected. "You want to talk nightmares?" she said. She put her hand up to his face and unfolded her three fingers. "I'm I-R-S.”
― Julie Garwood (Sweet Talk)

Thanks for stopping by. With the potential demise of GFC I'd love it if you would follow me using bloglovin'. You can find the clicky link in my right sidebar.

Spartan Frost by Jennifer Estep

Synopsis: I'm Logan Quinn, the deadliest Spartan warrior at Mythos Academy. At least I was--until the day I almost killed Gwen Frost.

Professor Metis and Nickamedes say that I'm fine, that Loki and the Reapers don't have a hold on me anymore, but I can't risk it. I can't risk hurting Gwen again. So I'm leaving Mythos and going somewhere far, far away.
I know Gwen wonders what's happening to me, whether I'm safe. I can't tell her, but this is my story. . .

My Thoughts: Despite the cover saying this is a Mythos Academy Novel it is actually a novella and with a reported 46 pages (according to the Amazon description). It is really more of a short story, as I expect a novella to be twice this length. In addition, the cover also depicts Gwen but this is Logan's story, picking up 2 weeks after the end of Crimson Frost, the 4th full length novel in the Mythos Academy series and Gwen is not in this story at all.

I've enjoyed all of the books so far but this novella really just didn't do it for me. It did not add much to the continuing story line of the Reapers of Chaos trying to bring Loki back to power nor did it show any additional depth to the characters that we didn't already know.

Logan's perspective is interesting but nothing new as we know from reading Crimson Frost that Logan was having a hard time dealing with his role during the end of the last book. In all actuality, Logan, despite him being a strong Spartan warrior, was more of an irritating child and by the end of this story I was so tired of his internal 'woe is me' thoughts I wanted to tell him to shut up and stop whining. I know that sounds a bit harsh as he is still only a teenager but he's been training as a warrior his entire life and his roll models tend towards the stoic side being almost cold and impersonal. I'd expect some of it to rub off on him but no such luck.

I was hopeful in reading this novella that I'd get a little glimpse into the lives of Logan and Gwen and the other kids in a 'behind the scenes' type of way. Perhaps a fun field trip the kids went on that wasn't included in any of the other books but something that would be inconsequential to the grand scheme of things within the series. I say this because the way this story was written it recaps the ending of Crimson Frost (albeit from a different perspective) which makes this novella a story someone would not want to read out of order or risk spoiling a very good book within the series. In addition it really isn't much of a stand-alone story as there was little to no character development or world building as all of that was done in previous books.

Who should read this book: I'd like to stress that those reading this story should only read it after reading the first 4 full length novels. 

I am thankful to Kensington (via NetGalley) for the opportunity to read and review this story.

Feature & Follow #153

  

As you may or may not know I'm really trying to do a lot more for my poor neglected book blog. This includes trying to put out more reviews (which would help if I actually was reading more books but that is besides the point), reading and commenting on more blogs that I follow and participating in more memes.

Now, awhile back I may have gone a little meme crazy and may have participated in waaaaaay too many. (I admit nothing!) What's different this time is that I'm only going to do a couple a week now instead of one every day. Trust me, there are memes out that for every day of the week but I just can't bring myself to go that route (again)(maybe)(still admitting nothing!) What I want to do is get my blog back to my original vision. A book blog featuring my reviews with a few fun things thrown in instead of the other way around.

With that said, this particular meme is one that I believe in and love. Feature & Follow is a wonderful way to get our book blogs out there and find like minded readers' blogs too. This is now the 153rd F&F but my first. It is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read and is a little different than the typical Follow/Hop type memes because once a week they feature one special blogger on each of their blogs. Love that idea!

They also have a weekly question to post and answer. This week's question is...

Q: Activity: Spine Poetry. Create a line of poetry with your book spines (take a picture). Not feeling creative? Tell us about your favorite poem.

 A: Yikes! Here's where I have to admit that creativity is not my strong point. I am the least creative person in my little world as a matter of fact. I'm more comfortable crunching some numbers than crocheting or scrapbooking or whatever else you creative people do. Numbers make sense to me. Stringing colorful beads into a necklace does not.

So, I have to share then, my favorite poem. Emily Dickinson's This Is My Letter To The World Although there is an obvious religious statement within the poem I always connected to it anyway, having felt that I was judged harshly by others no matter what message I was trying to convey. Judged and dismissed.

Since I'm talking Emily Dickinson I'd be remiss to not include my second favorite poem Because I Could Not Stop For Death. A bit morbid but I love it anyway.

Now, if for some reason I do come down with a high fever coupled with delirium and/or possessed by a crafty creative demon where I manage to create a line of poetry worthy of posting I'll do so. I wouldn't hold your breath though. I can't have that on my conscience. Not that you'd die or anything from holding your breath...unless you do it while handcuffed and chained and wearing a straight jacket while submerged in an underwater lock box. But why would you do that? For reals...we're readers people. We read about that crap...we don't do it.

Just One Kiss by Susan Mallery

Synopsis: He won't hesitate to put his life on the line...but will he ever risk his heart?  Falling for Justice Garrett was a high point in Patience McGraw's otherwise awkward adolescence. Even after he disappeared, Patience never forgot the boy who captured her heart. Now, he's back in Fool's Gold, California, and her passion for him is as strong as ever. But how can she trust that he won't abandon her again-and her daughter, too?  When bodyguard Justice Garrett was a young man, witness protection brought him to this idyllic town and he never forgot its warmth, or the sweet beauty of his childhood friend. He's returned to open a defense academy, and the Patience he once knew is all grown up. He can't resist her smile, or her curves. But Justice's past doesn't make him husband, or father, material.  Patience and Justice think they'll succumb to just one kiss... Then one more... Okay, just one night together. But they might learn that falling in love is beyond anyone's control.

My Thoughts: I am really torn about my feelings about this book. I enjoyed it but there were a quite a few things that really grated on my nerves. In this 11th full length Fool's Gold novel I have to wonder if they've run their course and the entire town should retire. On the other hand I truly love revisiting the quaint town. See, told ya', I'm torn.

This particular venture into Fool's Gold just didn't work for me. The town took on a Stepford feel to it where the children are just precocious, the teens are all heading to college with the highest honors, Mayor Marsha seems to pop in at a moments notice, as if she's hiding behind bushes and billboards waiting to pounce and new business ventures never fail.

Even Patience herself was irritating. Perfectly named, Patience was almost too kind and caring. When she did show some 'negative' feelings ie:jealousy, it seemed so out of character it tipped the scale toward shrew making her look petty and ugly.

There were several plot threads woven throughout the story and all were wrapped up quickly in bright shiny convenient bows. Speaking of convenient, at one point Patience is telling Justice that she wants nothing more than to open up a coffee shop. She even has the name and logo picked out but she is lacking the funds to start such a venture. Next thing we know a Great Aunt Becky has died, leaving her a whopping sum. She was able to pay her mom's mortgage and open up her business. Never mind that Patience didn't even know who the woman was.There were a couple other 'too convenient' happenings too.

I also had a problem with the ending. There were no hard feelings and all was forgiven by an 'I'm sorry' where there should have been massive groveling and some sort of wow factor to go along with the apology. At least the man should have brought flowers!

All of that really prevented me from fully enjoying this book but it wasn't a total loss...

The chemistry between Justice and Patience is sizzling and pretty awesome. I also appreciated that both characters were smart and prepared with condoms. In this day and age not having them mentioned is almost irresponsible.

There are quite a few characters that are super intriguing too. Angel, Ford and Felicia for starters. These are the people helping Justice start up his business. Also, Noelle is interesting as is Gideon. Looking forward to more of them.

Despite the many eye rolls I did during the reading of this book I still am a huge Mallery fan. Even with the issues I had with this particular book it still felt good getting back to Fool's Gold (even with the many shades of Stepford). These books are my comfort food and I'll continue reading them. I just wish I'd enjoyed this one more.

I'd recommend this book to other Fool's Gold fans but keep in mind that you'll have to suspend your disbelief a lot. I would also recommend that readers new to Susan's work or just new to Fool's Gold might want to start with another one, perhaps starting at the beginning with Chasing Perfect.

Cool Kids Book Case Giveaway!

As you all know I occasionally will post about an awesome giveaway that I've heard about. Most of the time it's about book giveaways but today I heard of a bookshelf designed for children's books. 

It is by Tidy Books and holds 85 children's books cover side visible. It's a slim design so it doesn't take up much floor space and will bolt to the wall for safety.

When I saw this I just knew I needed one for my niece. She is 3 and loves her books. What better way to get one than win it? Newly Crunchy Mom of 3 is hosting the giveaway where one lucky winner will get this awesome book case. The winner even gets to choose their color (blue, pink, white or natural). This is near a $180 prize! Hop on over to Brandy's blog and enter now! Runs through June 15th. 

Top Ten Tuesday

So now I'm all into Memes again and found another one that I liked. Over at The Broke and the Bookish they started a meme a while back (which I am just now discovering!!!) all about top ten lists. And Hey! I'm all about lists. I make lists all the time (I might not use them but I feel good just making them.) This week's Meme theme is......

Tah-tahtah-TAAAAAHHHHH...

Top Ten Favorite Covers of Books I've Read

In no particular order....

Oh and you may discover I lean a little towards the shallow superficial side when it comes to some of my covers...what can I say? I likey some hot men!

With this cover I really loved the colors and the divided scene...

With this cover I liked the black and white with the red color pop for the writing...

With this one I have to admit I normally don't like cartoonish covers but this one struck my fancy with the naughty noir feel LOL...

Once again I fell in love with a black and white cover with a color pop....

And again....

And again....hmmmm maybe it's the blue????

Hey at least it's not blue....

But this one is PURPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tattoo+Tool Belt=Yes Please!!!!!

I DARE you NOT to stare at this man's chest....a lot. Oh, and his left nipple may or may not have invaded my virtuous thoughts repeatedly. (I admit nothing!)

And there we have it folks....my top ten favorite covers of the books I've read. Some of the covers were better than the books themselves unfortunately. However, none of them were 'bad' books. Meaning, all of them got at least 3 stars from me and actually a few of them got 5 stars.

So, what are your top 10 covers?

Stacking The Shelves

It's been forever since I participated in a meme and I especially enjoy sharing my new book finds so Stacking the Shelves (aka StS) is some kind of awesome sauce. I found this meme over at Tynga's Reviews which is a pretty impressive book blog, by the way, so you should check it out soon.

Basically the meme is super simple. Just list your recent acquisitions. Easy Peasy. Right? So, here are some of my recent additions to my Mt. TBR (I add to the mountain by purchasing used books anywhere I can find them. Or new books from amazon, B&N or even Walmart. I borrow them from the library too. Some even are gifted to me by NetGalley or the author themselves for reviewing...pretty much anywhere I can get my hands on a book I'm super happy. I'm not particular about the type of book either. Ebook, paperback, hardcover or audio...I love them all!) Oh and each book cover will link back to amazon (no they don't pay me LOL). I just find it helpful when I'm looking up a new to me book.....

On Ebook

free on kindle!

free on kindle

NetGalley (8/13/13 release)

NetGalley (7/16/13 release)

NetGalley (7/29/13 release)

NetGalley (6/25/13 release)

only $.99 on kindle!

Library books

Purchases

A Dinner in Bellagio by Carlotta Melzi d'Este

Synopsis: A forty-something widow spends the summer on Lake Como in Italy to finish the cookbook she is writing but finds herself distracted by a 20 year old man-child. A lot of cooking happens and a lot of sex occurs and somewhere along the way they fall in love.

My Thoughts: This book is pretty much a mess. From the beginning to the end I was constantly wondering if this book was poorly translated from Italian to English or if the author purposely wrote it in English thinking she had a superior grasp of the language. Many of the sentences are awkward and clunky and often the dialogue had a randomness about it where multiple thoughts were blended all together within the same paragraph.

"I can use my mother's recipe or my grandmother's recipe. Both of my grandmothers had a different one. There are heavy recipes or heavier recipes. Tonight we will use my aunt Palmira's one. It's so rich that I suspect she had learnt it from a priest."

Another issue I had was that the author spent a lot of time telling us what she wanted us to know about the characters and the setting but never just showed us. There were many times where the story broke away from the 'action' to tell us background information. It would have read better if the information was discovered by the reader through Rose and Agostino's interactions or adventures. In addition much of that background information tended to read like it was part of a research paper. There were even footnotes peppered throughout the book.

The author had an interesting idea incorporating recipes of dishes that Rose and Agostino made but with one recipe following ever chapter it felt a bit much. After reading a few of them and realizing that there was no way I'd actually make any of them (mostly because some of them called for ingredients I had no idea where to find) I opted to skip them. This made the book go a lot faster for which I was very grateful.

The only thing that rivaled the number of recipes would be the amount of sex found in the book. Yes, this book has a warning "Warning: explicit sex and BDSM. 18+" but to tell the truth, it was not the amount of sex or the kind of sex that I found horrible. It was actually the rather uninspired phrasing used to describe the sex that I found offensive. None of their sexual encounters could be mistaken for romance. Here is an example of a weirdly worded and non-romantic sexual encounter....(I substituted a couple words that are more offensive but left those that can be found on a 'This is your body' poster at your doctor's office but I can assure you the rest is all the author's work.)

"I was lying on my back, and Agostino knelt among my legs putting my feet around his neck. He forced me to lift my [badonkadonk] from the bed and he penetrated me. He squatted and his [rooster] went back, he knelt and reached the deepest part of my vagina. He began to do the exercise faster, squat and knelt, back and forth, again, again...

"Agostino!" I yelled. I didn't want to end just at the beginning!

He slowed down panting and moaning. He was too concentrated to grin at me.

Slow. Fast. Slow. Fast. Slow......"

His [rooster] was rubbing my vagina upper wall. I'd never found such a perfect position. I was on the verge of an explosion. Abruptly Agostino stretched his legs under my lower back. I had to bend backwards and his [rooster] reached the cervix.

Fast. Fast. Hard. Fast. Boom!" 

The book is chock full of these encounters.

In addition the author had a habit of being quite repetitive. Repetitive in her description of Agostino (he had a brat face, a brat smile and a brat grin which we read about in every chapter) and extremely repetitive in the fact that the characters were always laughing or giggling yet nothing ever seemed funny.

"Rose, sei cosi bella sotto la luna! You are so beautiful under the moon!" He yelled at me in Italian......

......"Buona notte, Agostino. Hai passato una bella serata? Good night Agostino. Did you have a nice evening?" I answered him, me too in Italian.

He stared at me for a full minute then he burst out laughing. He couldn't stop.

"I'm sorry, Signora. I'm a werewolf tonight."

I laughed back at him and wished him goodnight before that crazy dialogue became dangerous."

I normally would try to balance my review with some positives about the book but after more than a week of trying to come up with some I'm still drawing a blank other than I was able to read this utilizing my Amazon Prime benefit for free. Because I finished this book I feel obligated to give it a rating more than 0 cups of coffee but it truly was not enjoyable for me so I give it 1/2 a cup of coffee. Carlotta's efforts deserve that much recognition even if I didn't like them.

Wilder by Christina Dodd

Synopsis:(back blurb) As a young man, Aleksandr Wilder abandoned his duty--and for that lapse, he was tortured, tormented ... and transformed.  Now he prowls the tunnels beneath the city, fighting on the frontline against the forces of hell, never daring to dream that he can live as a man again. After seven years fighting the world's ultimate evil, Chosen One Charisma Fangorn has become a tough, strong warrior without illusions or joy...even her gift of hearing the earthsong has faded.  Deaf to her own instincts, she never suspects that a monster lurks in the dark underneath the streets. When Aleksandr finds Charisma under attack, he rescues and cares for her, and hope stirs once more in his heart...and in the world. But in the secret recesses of his soul, he knows the truth. A woman so exceptional woman could never love a beast...could she?

My Thoughts: Frankly I was a bit disappointed in this book. It felt disjointed from the rest of the series. Perhaps because there was quite a bit of time between books 4 and this one. Perhaps it was the title that didn't flow with the rest of the series. Or maybe both. 

The first half of the book was quite a lovely beauty and the beast romance but the second half had a different feel to it. I've read these in order so I read this last book after reading the first 4 and it's a good thing. The coming together of the 7 Chosen Ones to beat the great Evil should have read more of a reunion to me but the characters from the previous 4 books felt like strangers. One of those previous characters almost died at the end and it was written as an afterthought as if that character was some unknown Ensign wearing a red shirt in an old Star Trek show. 

Also the back blurb of the book tells us who 'the beast' is but through a large part neither the hero (who as amnesia) nor the heroine knows who he is. It would have been much better if we, the readers, were also in the dark. Sure we could have figured it out, the book was Alexandr Wilder's book after all. BUT if it had been marketed as Charisma's book instead, Dodd could have pulled the suspense out more. 

In addition, there were no indications that the beast (aka Guardian) was actually Alexandr yet at one point Charisma decided he could be him anyway. I don't know how she came to that conclusion. He didn't look anything like Alexandr and his personality was different also. The only thing that fit was Guardian didn't know who he was and the timing lined up.

Anyway, there were some good moments in the book (really liked the Beauty and the Beast theme) and some not so good and someone not familiar with this series should not read this one first. You won't get the full impact on any of the secondary characters (those common to the entire Chosen Ones series) because they aren't in this book long enough. To tell the truth, the big battle will seem almost pointless if you haven't read any of the other books. It will be just a bunch of strangers trying to fight their way into a building.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis: You will kill. The only question is when.
In the dark days since the insidious Red Lung virus decimated the human population, vampires have risen to rule the crumbling cities and suburbs. Uncontested Princes hold sway over diminished ranks of humans: their "pets." In exchange for their labor, loyalty and of course, their blood, these pets are registered, given food and shelter, permitted to survive.
Unregistered humans cling to fringes, scavenging for survival. Allison Sekemoto and her fellow Unregistereds are hunted, not only by vampires, but by rabids, the unholy result of Red Lung-infected vampires feeding on unwary humans. One night, Allie is attacked by a pack of rabids, saved by an unlikely hero...and turned vampire.
Uncomfortable in her undead skin, Allie falls in with a ragtag crew of humans seeking a cure, or cures: for Rabidism and for Vampirism. She's passing for human...for now. But the hunger is growing and will not be denied. Not for friendship—not even for love.

My Thoughts:
Dystopian theme--check
Vampires--check
Rabid pseudo zombies--check
Potential Star Crossed Lovers theme--check
One Immortal Kick Butt Teenage Girl--check

With all those things how could this not be a great book???

For the most part this was a great read...once it got going. Honestly its biggest downfall is the slow as molasses pacing. Once Allie is turned into a vampire one would expect the story to take off but it doesn't. We readers endure pages and pages of her walking through trees and fields and highways with little to absolutely nothing happening except for her internal fight on to drink blood or not to drink blood.

The beginning was interesting as we learned how Fringers survived and once she is turned, Allie's training was also interesting. What isn't interesting, however is Allie herself (she's rather annoying) or pretty much any of the other characters in this book. Allie is set up to be a survivalist but continues to do ignorant things that make me wonder how she survived being an "unregistered" at all.

The only interesting character is her vampire sire who, unfortunately, is only in a small part of this book. I'm hoping he is in the next book more than he was in this one.

Despite the pacing and the unlikable characters, Julie Kagawa does have a way of making me want to find out what happens next. Did the group find Eden? Who is this mysterious Jackal who claims to be the Vampire King? Where did Kanin, Allie's sire, go? Kagawa gave me just enough information in this book to be satisfied with the ending but left out just enough for me to want to continue on with the series. In addition the world building is good, her writing flows well (even when the story's pace is staggeringly slow) and it's easy to read which overall made me happy.

A word of warning to younger readers: there are some gory scenes, quite a few fighting scenes and many deaths. Please keep this in mind if you decide to read this book.

Bite Me, Your Grace by Brooklyn Ann

Synopsis: England's "vampire craze" causes much vexation for the Lord Vampire of London, Ian Ashton. To save his reputation, Ian enlists aspiring authoress Angelica Winthrop without realizing she has hidden plans of her own.

Angelica Winthrop's life goal is to ruin her reputation, avoid marriage, and become a gothic authoress like her idol, Mary Shelley. To find inspiration for her new story, she breaks into the home of Ian Ashton, Duke of Burnrath, not knowing she will be coming up against the Lord Vampire of London. Romance sparks and reputations are at stake. But who knows the real difference between fact and fiction?

My Thoughts: I love me some historical romances. I love me some vampires. Put them together and I am in 7th Heaven. With Bite Me, Your Grace, Brooklyn Ann brought my two loves together in a way that wasn't awe inspiring but an OK read none the less.

Angelica Winthrop is an interesting character that unfortunately does quite a bit of flip flopping throughout the book. In the beginning she is intelligent, strong willed and witty but towards the middle she ends up becoming a bit, well, awful and no one I'd be interested in knowing. She does come back around but I was no longer in awe of her and moved my attention towards Ian and his second in command.

As far as Ian goes, he too managed to disappoint me in the end. I expected much more from the Master of the City than what he gave me upon rescuing his bride from the evil clutches of...well, it doesn't really matter who he rescued her from because technically he didn't really rescue her. But whatever.

From a plot perspective there was almost way too much going on because the author spent too much time focusing on the secondary plot threads giving too many pages away to them instead of focusing on building a believable romance between our hero and heroine.

On the positive side Brooklyn Ann's vampires are really interesting, her characters have much potential and Ian's second in command is so intriguing that he is more than enough to make me want to read more by Ann to see where she takes his character.