Weekly Wrap Up (02/05/11)

Books Reviewed: 

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
Skin Trade by Laurell K.Hamilton
Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

My Posts This Week:

Teaser Tuesday 
  In My Mailbox
Wordless Wednesday 
Waiting On Wednesday 
4 Free eBooks From Sourcebooks Now thru 02/06/11 

Current Giveaways

• Sealing The Deal (ends 02/13/11)
• The Portable Pediatrician (ends 02/17/11) 
• The Headhunter's Daughter (ends 02/20/11)
• Mr. Funny Pants (ends 02/27/11) 
• 
  

Book To Read Next Week
American Vampire by Jennifer Armintrout
Fallen by Lauren Kate
Love Is Murder by Allison Brennan
 

My Week In Review:
Wow! So in the last 36 hours I've read Darkfever & I've started Halfway To The Grave. HOW DID I MISS THESE BOOKS! All I can say is that I hope that the library has them in stock, I want to continue reading these series! Which make me ask, what other series have I missed out on?
This week, here in Indiana, we had ice storms. My yard is still nothing but inches of ice, it seems like. My car was a hunk of ice, so I was able to stay home those days and read, read, read! LOL! I've read Darkfever, Skin Trade, finished Last Sacrifice and Angelfire! Not to shabby, if I do say so myself! I go today and pick up Flirt and Bloodfever from the library!  
How was your week?

4 Free eBooks from Sourcebooks!- NOW thru 02/06/11

Thanks to Danielle and Beth at Sourcebooks for the great opportunity to download the following books for free! Just go HERE!! Leave me a comment, so I know someone is using them and I will continue to share when I get these offers! Enjoy!

Dreaming Anastasia

What really happened to Anastasia Romanov?

Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't. Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her. When she wakes up she discovers that she is in the ancient hut of the witch Baba Yaga, and that some things are worse than being dead.

In modern-day Chicago, Anne doesn't know much about Russian history. She is more concerned about getting into a good college—until the dreams start. She is somewhere else. She is someone else. And she is sharing a small room with a very old woman. The vivid dreams startle her, but not until a handsome stranger offers to explain them does she realize her life is going to change forever. She is the only one who can save Anastasia. But, Anastasia is having her own dreams…

Love at First Flight

What if the guy in the airplane seat next to you turned out to be the love of your life?
Juliana, happy in her career as a hair stylist, is on her way to visit her boyfriend of ten years who's working out of state. She's wondering why they're not engaged yet. Michael is going to his fiance's parents' home for an engagement party he doesn't want. A states' prosecutor, he's about to try the biggest case of his career, he hates the distraction, and he's having doubts about the relationship.
They sit together on the plane, and discover they're on the same flight coming back. When the weekend is a disaster for each of them, they bond on the plane ride home. But life is full of complications, including their exes, who don't want to let go, and when Michael's trial turns dangerous, the two must confront what they value most in life...

Lydia Bennet's Story

Lydia Bennet is the flirtatious, wild and free-wheeling youngest daughter. Her untamed expressiveness and vulnerability make her fascinating to readers who’ll love this imaginative rendering of Lydia’s life after her marriage to the villainous George Wickham. Will she mature or turn bitter? Can a girl like her really find true love?

In Lydia Bennet’s Story we are taken back to Jane Austen’s most beloved novel, Pride and Prejudice, to a Regency world seen through Lydia’s eyes where pleasure and marriage are the only pursuits. But the road to matrimony is fraught with difficulties and even when she is convinced that she has met the man of her dreams, complications arise. When Lydia is reunited with the Bennets, Bingleys, and Darcys for a grand ball at Netherfield Park, the shocking truth about her husband may just cause the greatest scandal o

The Greatest Knight

Royal protector. Loyal servant. Forgotten hero.
A penniless young knight with few prospects, William Marshal is plucked from obscurity when he saves the life of Henry II's formidable queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. In gratitude, she appoints him tutor to the heir to the throne, the volatile and fickle Prince Henry. But being a royal favorite brings its share of danger and jealousy as well as fame and reward.
A writer of uncommon historical integrity and accuracy, Elizabeth Chadwick resurrects the true story of one of England's greatest forgotten heroes in a captivating blend of fact and fiction. The Greatest Knight restores William Marshal to his rightful place at the pinnacle of the Middle Ages, reflecting through him the triumphs, scandals, and power struggles that haven't changed in eight hundred years.

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action.

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

about the author~
Courtney Allison Moulton lives in Michigan, where she is a photographer and spends all her free time riding and showing horses. She has always loved reading about ancient mythologies, studying dead languages, and telling scary, romantic stories. ANGELFIRE is her debut novel.
find out more HERE
my thoughts~
 Thanks to HarperColins & Net Galley, I had the opportunity to read the eARC of Angelfire. I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was a  fast paced, great read! The story line was well thought out, and it left me hanging and wanting more, more, more! I love Ellie & Will and I hope to see more of Nathanial & Lauren in the next book!  Since I did read the eARC of Angelfire, I do think I'm going to have to buy this book when it hit's the shelves February 15th! I look forward to reading the other 2 books in this trilogy and Ms. Moulton has a debut hit!

Book Giveaway!! The Portable Pediatrician by The Dr.'s Sears

The Drs. Sears are back with this great new guide to childcare.  No more guessing on your child's health. You'll have answers to most of your questions right on your shelf (which is SO convenient).

THE PORTABLE PEDIATRICIAN
By William Sears M.D., Martha Sears R.N., Robert MD, James Sears, M.D., Peter Sears M.D.

Imagine you are up at three o'clock in the morning with a sick child. Wouldn't it be nice to have expert advice readily at hand to help get you through the night? Encyclopedic in scope, THE PORTABLE PEDIATRICIAN features timely and practical information on every childhood illness and emergency, including when to call the doctor, what reassuring signs can help you know your child is okay, how to treat your child at home, and much more-all in a convenient A-to-Z format. Among the scores of topics covered:

teething; sprains and broken bones; nosebleeds; measles; ear infections; choking; rashes; colic; headaches; eating disorders; fever; hip pain; warts; allergies; obesity; seizures; Asperger's Syndrome; bronchitis; masturbation; sunburns; pneumonia; speech delay; lice; vomiting; asthma; heart defects; blisters; sleep problems; and more.

The Searses guide parents and caregivers from a child's infancy through the teen years, teaching them what to expect at regular checkups as well as how to boost a child's well-being, devise a family health plan, work effectively with their pediatrician, and more. Distinguished by the Searses' trademark comprehensiveness, reliability, and accessible, comforting one, this book is a must-have for all families who want to keep their children healthy and happy.

About The Contest:

Thanks to Anna at Hachette Book Group
  One winner will be chosen on random.org
The Contest ends at midnight on February 16th
Open to US & Canadian addresses.

No PO Boxes please.
**Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule,
which means that if you win the same title in two or more contests,
you will receive only one copy of the title**

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 be if you follow MGP Blog on Twitter
Your fourth comment you choose to do so, should be a link where you have posted
about the giveaway (this will count for 2 entries)

Good luck!

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton

When a vampire serial killer sends Anita Blake a grisly souvenir from Las Vegas, she has to warn Sin City's local authorities what they're dealing with. Only it's worse than she thought. Ten officers and one executioner have been slain-paranormal style. Anita heads to Vegas, where's she's joined by three other federal marshals, including the ruthless Edward. It's a good thing he always has her back, because when she gets close to the bodies, Anita senses "tiger" too strongly to ignore it. The weretigers are very powerful in Las Vegas, which means the odds of her rubbing someone important the wrong way just got a lot higher.

my thoughts~
You know, when I first read Guilty Pleasures, I loved Anita Blake, Richard & Jean Claude. As the series progressed, I found myself not as eager for that next book to come out. There was an over abundance of sexual partners, and while I think to each their own, I personally don't want to read about it. So I skip over most of those parts. There tends to be too much of an ICK factor for me. And I only buy the books second hand now. But about Skin Trade... When I first began reading this book, I truly thought, woohoo! LKH has returned to the old way of writing! I mean Anita didn't even have sex with anyone in like the first 350 (or so) pages! Yes, there was alot of discussion about her sex life, but not gross details. I really enjoyed those first 350 pages. Then she ends up having sex with Wicked & Truth, and it was ok. But then before you know it, it's multiple guys, that she doesn't remember, ick, ick, ick... I did enjoy the book, skipping past the multiple partner stuff. I'm glad that I rented the book from the library and am on the waiting list for Flirt.

Book Giveaway!! Mr. Funny Pants by Michael Showalter

about: Mr. Funny Pants
I was at my wit's end. I'd had enough of this job, this life, and my relationship had broken up. Should I eat chocolate, or go to India, or fall in love? Then I had a revelation: Why not do all three, in that order? And so it was that I embarked on a journey that was segmented into three parts and was then made into a major motion picture. Later, I woke up on an airplane with a hole in my face and a really bad hangover. I was ushered brusquely off the plane by my parents who took me to a rehab where I tested positive for coke, classic coke, special k (the drug), Special K (the cereal), mushrooms, pepperoni, and Restless Leg Syndrome. It was there that I first began painting with my feet.
But rewind...the year was 1914. I was just a young German soldier serving in the trenches while simultaneously trying to destroy an evil ring with some help from an elf, a troll, and a giant sorcerer, all while cooking every recipe out of a Julia Child cookbook. What I'm trying to say is that there was a secret code hidden in a painting and I was looking for it with this girl who had a tattoo of a dragon! Let me clarify, it was the 1930s and a bunch of us were migrating out of Oklahoma, and I was this teenage wizard/CIA operative, okay? And, um then I floated off into the meta-verse as a ball of invisible energy that had no outer edge...  Ugh, okay. None of this is true. I'm just kind of a normal guy from New Jersey who moved to New York, got into comedy, wrote this book about trying to write this book, and then moved to Alaska, became the mayor of a small town, spent $30,000 on underwear, and now I'm going to rule the world!!!

Learn more about Michael Showalter here:
http://www.michaelshowalter.net/

About The Contest:

Thanks to Anna at Hachette Book Group
Two winners will be chosen on random.org
The Contest ends at midnight on February 27th
Open to US & Canadian addresses.

No PO Boxes please.
**Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule,
which means that if you win the same title in two or more contests,
you will receive only one copy of the title**

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 be if you follow MGP Blog on Twitter
Your fourth comment you choose to do so, should be a link where you have posted
about the giveaway (this will count for 2 entries)

Good luck!

Waiting On Wednesday (4)

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted each week by

Breaking the Spine

my pick this week:

Treachery In Death by J.D. Robb

Detective Eve Dallas and her partner, Peabody, are following up on a senseless crime-an elderly grocery owner killed by three stoned punks for nothing more than kicks and snacks. This is Peabody's first case as primary detective-good thing she learned from the master.
But Peabody soon stumbles upon a trickier situation. After a hard workout, she's all alone in the locker room when the gym door clatters open; and-while hiding inside a shower stall trying not to make a sound-she overhears two fellow officers, Garnet and Oberman, arguing. It doesn't take long to realize they're both crooked-guilty not just of corruption but of murder. Now Peabody, Eve, and Eve's husband, Roarke, are trying to get the hard evidence they need to bring the dirty cops down-knowing all the while that the two are willing to kill to keep their secret.

Publication Date: February 22, 2011

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (February 22, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399157034
• ISBN-13: 978-0399157035 

Wordless Wednesday...yesterdays ice storm

Teaser Tuesday (02/01/11)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme
is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
(make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!
You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add
the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

my teaser~ 

He stepped around me to put himself between me and wherever he was staring. "You can't see into the Grim yet."

"See what? The grim what?" I peeked over his shoulder. I thought I saw a shadow cross my path, but when I blinked, nothing was there. It was too dark.

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

release date 02/15/11

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules.

She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir Princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardian to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose- for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back… and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your life is about saving others, who will save you?

my thoughts~
I loved it! I caught myself dragging out this book, since it is the last in the series. I just did not want to see it end! I think that Richelle Mead wrapped the series up the only way it could be wrapped up. And what a great ending to a great series! This is a series that I will be read again and again by me!  My thoughts on this though? I think I would love a series (or even just a stand alone) that continues (even briefly) Lissa's story. That would be great!

Book Giveaway!! The Headhunter's Daughter by Tamar Myers

A spellbinding tale of equatorial Africa and a child torn dangerously between two worlds.
In 1945, an infant left inadvertently to die in the jungles of the Belgian Congo is discovered by a young Bashilele tribesman on a mission to claim the head of an enemy. Recognized as human-despite her pale white skin and strange blue eyes-the baby is brought into the tribe and raised as its own. Thirteen years later, the girl-now called "Ugly Eyes"-will find herself at the center of a controversy that will rock two separate societies.
    Young missionary Amanda Brown hears the incredible stories of a white girl living among the Bashilele headhunters. In the company of the local police chief, Captain Pierre Jardin, and with the witch doctor's wife, the quick-witted Cripple, along as translator, Amanda heads into the wild hoping to bring the lost girl back to "civilization." But Ugly Eyes no longer belongs in their world-and the secrets surrounding her birth and disappearance are placing them all in far graver peril than anyone ever imagined. Visit Tamar Myers Webiste

About The Contest:

Thanks to Megan at Harper Collins
Two winners will be chosen by random.org
The Contest ends at midnight on February 20th
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 be if you follow MGP Blog on Twitter and /or Facebook
Your fourth comment you choose to do so, should be a link where you have posted
about the giveaway (this will count for 2 entries)

Good luck!

 

In My Mailbox (01/30/11)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

If you haven't visited her blog, you should!

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead- library ebook

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning- library book 

The Unfinished Song: Initiate (Kindle Edition) by Tara Maya 
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa~ ebook
The Iron Queen by Julit Kagawa~ ebook
Last Sacrifice: A Vampire Academy Novel by Richelle Mead~ ebook
Love Is Murder: A Novella of Suspense by Allison Brennan~ ebook 
A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole~ ebook
Wicked Deeds On A Winter's Night by Kresley Cole~ ebook Pleasure Of A Dark Prince by Kresley Cole~ ebook