2010 Romance Reading Challenge

Challenge Guidelines:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.--Non-Bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.

2. There are four levels:

-- Curious – Read 3 Romance Fiction novels.

-- Fascinated – Read 6 Romance Fiction novels.

-- Addicted – Read 12 Romance Fiction novels.

-- Obsessed – Read 20 Romance Fiction novels.

3. Any book format counts.

4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010.

If you would like to join the 2010 Romance Reading Challenge, go HERE!

1.) A Black Tie Affair by Sherrill Bodine
2.) Seduced By A Rogue

3.) Gentlemen Prefer Succubi

4.) A Highlander's Destiny

5.) Ecstasy Unveiled
6.) Countess of Scandal

7.) Jordan

8.) Born In Night

9.) Born In Fire

10.) Born In Ice

11.) The Last Song
12.) To Sin With A Scoundrel
13.) Montana Legacy

2010 YA Reading Challenge

Want to join the 2010 YA Reading Challenge?

Go HERE!

J. Kaye is hosting the 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge.

Here's what she has to say~

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. --Non-Bloggers: Post your list of books in the comment section of the wrap-up post. To learn how to sign up without having a blog, click here.

2. There are four levels:-
-The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.

--Just My Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 25 Young Adult novels.

--Stepping It Up YA Reading Challenge – Read 50 Young Adult novels.

--Super Size Me YA Reading Challenge – Read 75 Young Adult novels.

3. Audio, eBooks, paper all count.

4. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

1.) Wake by Lisa McMann

2.) Fade by Lisa McMann

3.) Gone by Lisa McMann

Christmas with Paula Deen

Christmas with Paula Deen
by Paula Deen

"I've gone through all my books and put together this collection of my most treasured recipes and memories for the holiday season to share with you...You'll find a few new dishes, a sprinkling of new holiday stories, and some family pictures you might not have seen before." There's no holiday Paula Deen loves better than Christmas, when she opens her home to family and friends, and traditions old and new make the days merry and bright. Filled with Paula's trademark Southern charm and happy reminiscences of Yuletide seasons past, Christmas with Paula Deen is a collection of beloved holiday recipes and stories interspersed with cherished family photographs. Included are Paula's most requested homemade gifts of food; a collection of cookies sure to become your family's favorites; easy dishes for a Christmas breakfast or brunch that will let you enjoy the food and your guests; impressive fare for Christmas dinner and holiday entertaining and, of course, spectacular cakes, puddings, pies, and other sweet things.

"So Merry Christmas, y'all, and best dishes and best wishes from me and my family to yours."

my review~

I love Paula Deen and when I had the chance to get this book (published in 2007) I grabbed it!
This book has great stories laced throughout the book (you get to read how Michael proposed!), along with some of my favorite recipes(Praline French Toast Casserole). The thing I like most about Paula Deen's recipes, they are easy to follow!

getting back to the way I wanted it...

When I first started blogging, I wanted to just blog about the things that interested me and if no one ever read it, well that was ok with me. I was going to blog about all the things that I enjoy in life-ie: my guilty pleasures. Somewhere along the blogging road, it turned into a book review & giveaway blog. Don't get me wrong, I love reading! It is one of my favorite past times. But it got to the point that I wasn't enjoying it as much as I should. It became mostly about the giveaways. Well, after being in & out of the hospital, and not blogging for 3 months, I've decided that 2010 is going to be about the way I want to blog, about the things that I want to blog about. I am still going to review the books that I read and host giveaways. But it isn't going to be just books that I review & books that I giveaway. So look for posts concerning the movies that I see, my favorite tv shows, if I find some fantastic product at the store. Whatever I find interesting might just end up in a post!

100+ Reading Challenge

100+ Reading Challenge (2010)

(Ends December 31, 2010)

1. A Black Tie Affair by Sherrill Bodine

2. Veracity

3. 101 Glam Girl Ways to an Ultra Chic Lifestyle

4. Seduced by a Rogue

5.Gentlemen Prefer Succubi

6. A Highlander's Destiny

7. Ecstasy Unveiled

8. Knit, Purl, Die

9. Sleep No More

10. Countess of Scandal

11. Wake

12. Storm of Visions

13. Dare to Surrender

14. Spider's Bite

15. Shift

16. Jordan

17. Shadow Blade

18. Born in Night

19. Born in Fire

20.Born in Ice

21. The Last Song

22. Fire Gazer

23. To Sin With A Scoundrel

24.The Bride Collector
25.Quick & Easy Tips to Lose Weight
26.Silent Scream
27.Montana Legacy
28.Pride & Prjudice & Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
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Friday Fill In 2010!

Friday Fill In 2010

1. Last night I was asleep by 10:30!2. I'm hoping I will blog better, and not be hospitalized this year.
3. The funniest thing is watching the kids play.
4. It's 2010...Brittni graduates in May! I feel OLD! LOL!
5. He said I'm staying up; she said Good Night!
6. Jesus gave us salvation and it's up to us to ACCEPT it.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm cooking a big pot roast with potatos & carrots, tomorrow my plans include blogging and then tomorrow night the grandkids are spending the night and Sunday I will need to recuperate!!

Happy 2010!!!

Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts

Love blooms in the second novelin Nora Roberts's celebrated Bride Quartet series.



As little girls MacKensie, Emma, Laurel, and Parker spent hours acting out their perfect make believe "I do" moments. Years later their fantasies become reality when start their own wedding planning company to make every woman's dream day come true. With perfect flowers, delicious desserts, and joyful moments copatured on film, Nora Roberts's Bride Quartet shares each woman's emotionally magical journey to romance.



In Bed of Roses, florist Emma Grant is finding career success with her friends at Vows wedding planning company, and her love life appears to be thriving. Though men swarm around here, she still hasn't found Mr. Right. And the last place she's looking is right under her nose.



But that's just where Jack Cooke is. He's so close to the women of Vows that he's practically family, but the architect has begun to admit to himself that his feelings for Emma have developed into much more than friendship. When Emma returns his passion-kiss for blistering kiss-they must trust in their history...and in their hearts.



my review~



Bed of Roses is a quick & easy read that I really enjoyed. Emma & Jack's story is one that I know I will visit again and again along! The second book in Nora's Bride Quartet, Bed of Roses has everything you want in a romance although I will admit that I enjoyed reading 'Vision In White' a little bit more, but I think because I enjoyed MacKensie & Carter's story so much! Or maybe it is because I knew it was the first of 4 books.

Giveaway!! Seduced By A Rogue by Amanda Scott

A fair-haired beauty at 19, Lady Mairi is heiress apparent to her father Lord Dunwythie's rich barony. He has carefully taught her how to manage their estates, but a feud between his clan and the Maxwell clan is brewing as the two families edge toward a clan war - their dispute over money owed. Mairi's father believes he owes nothing, and of course Mairi sides with him.When the impulsive and blue-eyed Rob Maxwell chances to meet Mairi in a barley field, they feel instant attraction, despite their families' antagonisms. Knowing he must put his clan first, Rob enacts a plan to force Dunwythie to pay his debt: Rob kidnaps Mairi, making the abduction appear the work of a stranger; then he and his sheriff-brother offer to help Dunwythis rescue his daughter IF, and only if, he will pay them the monies due. Yet after Rob captures Mairi's body, she captures his heart. When Dunwythie summons the aid of the most powerful clan in all Scotland (the Douglases), clan-tensions rise to a fever pitch. Love takes its own feverish course, as Mairi and Rob join forces to prevent a clash between hot-headed clans, and to protect their budding love.

About the Contest:

Thanks to Anna at Hachette Book Group

Five winners will be choosen

The Contest ends at midnight on January 30th

Open to US & Canadian addresses.

No PO Boxes please.

To win:

Your first comment should be your name & email address (1 entry)

Your second comment should be that you are a follower (but only if you are!) (1 entry)

Your third comment, should you choose to do so, should be a link where you have posted about the giveaway (this will count for 2 entries)

Giveaway!! Sleep No More by Susan Crandall

The night was always Abby Whitman's enemy. As a young girl she walked in her sleep, and one night, she started a fire that scarred her sister for life and left Abby with unbearable guilt . . . and a loneliness that echoes within her. Now Abby has begun blacking out again-with apparently fatal results. A car accident has killed the son of a prominent family. Even though the evidence seems to exonerate her, Abby is plagued by doubts-and soon by mysterious threats. Psychiatrist Dr. Jason Coble is intrigued by Abby and offers to help her explore the dark recesses of her mind.

Visit SusanCrandall.net

Follow @SusanCrandall on Twitter.

Check out Five Fun Facts.

About the Contest:
Thanks to Anna at Hachette Book Group
Five winners will be choosen
The Contest ends at midnight on January 29th
Open to US & Canadian addresses. No PO Boxes please.
To win:
Your first comment should be your name & email address (1 entry)
Your second comment should be that you are a follower (but only if you are!) (1 entry)
Your third comment, should you choose to do so, should be a link where you have posted about the giveaway (this will count for 2 entries)

Giveaway!! A Black Tie Affair by Sherrill Bodine

Fashion curator Athena Smith will do anything to get her hands on the Clayworth family's couture collection for her exhibit. So she's thrilled when she's called in to authenticate the gowns...until she falls ill while examining them and wakes up face-to-face with notorious Chicago bachelor Drew Clayworth.Drew doesn't trust Athena one bit. He still believes she betrayed him years ago. So when his family's gowns go missing and Athena offers her help in exchange for the dresses, he reluctantly accepts. But they're both taken off guard by the barely restrained passion that's still between them...and the memories that are both bitter and sweet. As they work together to find the dresses, can they resist the sparks between them?

Visit SherrillBodine.com

Follow @SherrillBodine on Twitter.

Check out the Five Fun Facts.

About The Contest:

Thanks to Anna at Hachette Book Group
Five winners will be choosen
The Contest ends at midnight on January 28th
Open to US & Canadian addresses.

No PO Boxes please.

To win:
Your first comment should be your name & email address (1 entry)
Your second comment should be that you are a follower (but only if you are!) (1 entry)
Your third comment, should you choose to do so, should be a link where you have posted about the giveaway (this will count for 2 entries)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Today is the day I start blogging again on a regular basis!

I have read a couple of books during December and will post

a review of "Bed of Roses" by Nora Roberts later today!