Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance among the Faery Courts has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow.
Seventeen-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their intrigues. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo of eyes and wings, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life.
The tattoo does bring changes—not the kind Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils. . . .

my thoughts:
I don't want to say anything negative here, but... I began Ink Exchange, not realizing that it was the second book in a series. Maybe that is why it took me 4 chapters to become even remotely interested and still I found myself not caring about the characters, what would happen to them, etc. It took me 3 days to read this book, because I would read a few pages or a chapter, put it down and start to read something else. I never felt as though I were "in" the story, like I normally do. This was just a book that I bought, so I HAD to read it. I read the book and am not in a big hurry to find the first (Wicked Lovely) or see if there is a third and when or if it will be published. It just wasn't my kind of book which was a surprise, since I've really enjoyed YA paranormals lately.
final thought:
I wish I had picked it up at the library, not bought it. It will be added to my "Pass It On" list.

Book Giveaway~ One Scream Away by Kate Brady

Killer Chevy Bankes is a master of disguise, and just paroled, he's coming after the woman who sent him to jail, the beautiful antiques expert Beth Denison. A set of antique dolls brings Beth into his sight, and inspire Chevy's disturbing crimes as he draws closer to Beth and her young daughter. Chevy sends the dolls to Beth one-by-one and she soon realizes that these antiques carry the same marks as his victims, signaling that the final piece in his collection will be for her.Neil Sheridan gave up his FBI shield five years ago, but his best friend Rick, a cop, pulls him in as a consultant on a case involving a serial killer who is eerily similar to a murderer Neil encountered in the past. The investigation leads Neil to Beth's doorstep, and he is certain she isn't telling him the truth. Neil is the only one who can get through Beth's defenses and, as they grow closer, discover the secrets that Beth is hiding about her fateful night with Chevy.

About the Contest:

Open to US and Canadian address.

No PO Boxes please.

Five winners will be chosen on June 30th.
Winners will be notified by email and on my blog on July 1st.

A special thanks to Hachette Book Group.

To Win:

Leave a Comment with your name & email address

For an added chance, be a follower!

Please respond within 48 hours with your mailing information!

Book Giveaway~ My Forbidden Desire by Carolyn Jewel

Alexandrine Marit is a witch in mortal danger. An evil mage craves the powerful, mysterious talisman that supplies her magic, and the only person who can keep her safe is a dark and dangerous fiend called Xia. With his fierce animosity toward witches, he's hardly the ideal bodyguard. Yet as days turn into nights, she can't deny the white-hot passion between them.Xia hates witches. They enslave and mercilessly kill his kind. But he's been ordered to protect Alexandrine, who, to his surprise, has a spirit he admires and a body he longs to possess. With the mage and his henchmen closing in, Alexandrine and her protector must trust the passion that can unite them...or risk losing everything to the enemies who can destroy them both.

About the Contest:
Open to US and Canadian address.
No PO Boxes please.
Five winners will be chosen on June 23rd.

Winners will be notified by email and on my blog on June 24th.
A special thanks to Hachette Book Group.

To Win:
Leave a Comment with your name & email address
For an added chance, be a follower!
Please respond within 48 hours with your mailing information!

In My Mailbox (a day late!)

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren

I also went yard salin' this weekend

and picked up (musically speaking):

Petula Clark- Her Greatest Hits

Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook

The Minnie Riperton Collection-Petals

Classics for Romance

Romantic Guitar

Piano Stylings

Pass It On...

I've been thinking of what I can do with the books

I seem to be collecting since I've started this blog

and it's turned into a book blog.

I'm going to put a list of books in the side bar

and I will send them to you.

Some of the books have been read once

and some are from the used book store(re: read alot!)

But there are rules...

1.) Pick a book/author that you haven't read before.
2.) You can't keep it unless you asolutely LOVE it!
And I mean it has to be the "can't live without re-reading it" kind of LOVE it!
3.) When your finished, pass it along to someone who hasn't read the book/author.

That's it. See how easy?


You will need to email me which book you want, along with your address.
(I still have to make the list, look for it over the next couple of days)

Harlequin Art Exhibit at Openhouse Gallery

I received an email today from Abbie with Openhouse Gallery. Harlequin has an upcoming event that will be open to the public and FREE! Yes, I said it, FREE!!!

The dates it will be showing are May 30th through June 12. The exhibit will showcase their cover art from 1949-2009.
Anyone in or around the New York area on the dates listed should go, take pictures and post them! If you do, don't forget to come back here and leave a comment so I can check them out!

Who: Harlequin
What: Celebrating 60 years of cover art
When: May 30- June 12, 2009
Where: Openhouse Gallery,
201 Mulberry Street
New York, Ny 10012

Book Giveaway~Obama's Blackberry

When Obama stated that if elected, he would keep his Blackberry, debate echoed through Washington and among the ranks of the Secret Service. What would it be like to have a president who could Twitter, send text messages, and navigate the web with ease? What would it be like to receive a text message from inside the Oval Office and, most importantly, what would it say?Now, for the first time, We The People are privy to our new leader's epistolary back-and-forths on his wily hand-held device. We're about to discover that his emails (and the replies, from his wife and daughters, Biden, Palen, Rush, Hannity, the new first puppy, and even Bush) are so tuned in to the language of electronic correspondence they come hilariously close to the brink of legibility.This giftable, imagined glimpse into Obama's beloved Blackberry traverses the mundane and momentous contours of the Commander in Chief's life, from security briefings to spam, basketball practice to domestic bliss, and the panic of oops-I-hit-reply-all, to, of course, the trauma of dealing with the First Mother In Law.

About the Contest:

Open to US and Canadian address.

No PO Boxes please.

Three winners will be chosen on June 7th.

A special thanks to Hachette Book Group.

To Win:

Leave a Comment with your name & email address

For an added chance, be a follower!

I will notify the winners by

email and on my blog on June 8th.

Please respond within 24 hours with your mailing information!

Royal Romance Reading Challenge- Completed 08/18/09

Thanks again to Royal Reviews for a great challenge!

For this challenge you will need to read seven books in six months. To complete the challenge the title or author's name will need to begin with the letters R-O-M-A-N-C-E and must be classified as a romance novel (this includes as romance sub genre including contemporary, historical or paranormal).
You can change the your choice at any time, books can crossover with any other challenges but must be reviewed to be counted. This challenge begins on June 1st and finishes on November 30,2009, although you can sign up anytime.

R~ Rachel Gibson- Not Another Bad Date

O~One Scream Away by Kate Brady

M~My Forbidden Deisre by Carolyn Jewel

A~Ahern, Cecelia- P.S. I Love You

N~Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson

C~ Chasing Harry Winston by Jennifer Weiner

E~ Eternal Moon by Rebecca York

7 / 7 books 100% done!

The Love Bites Reading Challenge~

Thanks to Royal Reviews (again!) for this challenge!

Whether your preference is vamps, weres or something more exotic -

here's a challenge for all you paranormal/urban fantasy lovers!
All you need to do is read three paranormals with a romantic theme

between 1st April and 30th June 2009.
That's it! No other rules.

You can cross this over with another challenge and change your mind

on the books you'd like to read halfway through if you like.

1.) Lover Awakened (05/29/09)

2.) Lover Revealed (06/02/09)

3.) Eternal Moon (6/05/09)

3 / 3 books 100% done!

Read It, Watch It, Rate It~ Book vs Movie Challenge~

Thanks to Royal Reviews for this challenge!

The rules are simple:
In 2009 read a minimum of 6 books that have been made into movies and then watch the movie. Write a review on the Book vs the Movie and be honest about whether or not you think the film-maker was successful in translating the book to film. Please keep in mind that it is impossible to convey everything. You must both read the book and watch the movie within 2009. All genres are acceptable and it doesn't matter when the movie was made.

I found a great list of books 2 movies here!

1.)Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

2.) Cider House Rules by John Irving

3.) Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

4.) The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks ~06/19/09

5.) P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern ~ 07/01/09

6.) Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

edit note: I changed one so far. I took off "Of Mice and Men" changing it to "The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks. Its my all time favorite movie and I've wanted to read the book.

2 / 6 words. 33% done!

0 / 6 books- 0% done!

1st in a Series Challenge~

Thanks to J.Kaye's Book Blog for hosting this great challenge!

Guidelines for 1st in Series Challenge 2009

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.

2. Read 12 books that are the first in any series.

You may read & list your chosen books any time during the year.

3. Challenge begins January thru December, 2009.

4. You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.

I will be posting my books as I read them!

1.) Marked

2.) Servant: The Awakening

3.) Evermore

4.) Blue Bloods

5.)Vampire Academy

6.)Eternal Pleasure

7.)The Summoning

8.) Dark Lover

9.) Beyond The Highland Mist

10.) Dark Embrace

11.) You Slay Me

12.)Seduced By A Laird

8 / 12 books- 67% done!

Book Giveaway! The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos

About the book:
In 1985, the body of a 14-year-old girl turns up in a Washington, D.C., park, the latest in a series of murders by a killer the media dub "The Night Gardener." T.C. Cook, the aging detective on the case, works with a quiet, almost monomaniacal, focus. Also involved are two young uniformed cops, Gus Ramone, who's diligent, conscientious and unimpressed by heroics, and Dan "Doc" Holiday, an adrenaline junkie who's decidedly less straight.Fast forward 20 years. Detective Ramone, now married with kids of his own, investigates the murder of one of his teenage son's friends. The homicide closely resembles the earlier unsolved Night Gardener murders. Holiday, now an alcoholic chauffeur and bodyguard, follows the case on his own and tracks down Cook, long retired but still obsessed with the original murders. While the three work together toward a suspenseful ending, Pelecanos emphasizes the fallacy of "solving" a murder and explores the ripple effects of violent crime on society

About the Contest:
Open to US and Canadian address.
No PO Boxes please.
Five winners will be chosen on June 10th.
A special thanks to Hachette Book Group.

To Win:
Leave a Comment with your name & email address
For an added chance, be a follower!
I will notify the winners by email and on my blog
on June 11th.
Please respond within24 hours with your mailing information!

Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts

Lutie McFee's history has taught her to avoid attachments...to people, to places, and to almost everything. With her mother long dead and her father long gone to find his fortune in Las Vegas, 15-year-old Lutie lives in the god-forsaken town of Spearfish, South Dakota with her twelve-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, the 300-pound ex-girlfriend of her father. While Lutie shoplifts for kicks, Fate spends most of his time reading, watching weird TV shows and worrying about global warming and the endangerment of pandas. As if their life is not dismal enough, one day, while shopping in their local Wal-Mart, Floy keels over and the two motherless kids are suddenly faced with the choice of becoming wards of the state or hightailing it out of town in Floy's old Pontiac. Choosing the latter, they head off to Las Vegas in search of a father who has no known address, no phone number and, clearly, no interest in the kids he left behind.MADE IN THE U.S.A. is the alternately heartbreaking and life-affirming story of two gutsy children who must discover how cruel, unfair and frightening the world is before they come to a place they can finally call home.

my review~
Here is another author that I have never read before, but will again.
I couldn't stop reading once I stated becase I was "trapped" in Lutie & Fate's world. I cried, I laughed and I think I might have even threw the book (which I NEVER do, cause you know, it's a book and they should be respected). I was exhausted after living in Lutie's world for the 9 hours it took me to read this book.
This book was so detailed, you were running from the cops, you were living on the streets in Las Vegas, you were trying to scrape and /or con your way into being able to eat that day, right along with Lutie & Fate.
At first I found Lutie to be a very unlikable 15 year old girl, then I remembered, oh yeah, 15 year old girls are usually unlikable. But this book also showed that when they have to be, kids can & will be resilient. They will make their way through situations that will make any parent shudder.

Read it, you won't be disappointed.

Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs

Chicago cartoonist Sarah Moon tackles life's real issues with a healthy dose of sharp wit in her syndicated comic strip "Just Breathe". As Sarah's cartoon alter ego, Shirl, undergoes artificial insemination, her situation begins to mirror Sarah's own difficult attempts to conceive. However, Sarah's dreams of the future did not include her husband's infidelity: snag number two in Sarah's so-called perfect life.With Chicago, and her marriage, in the rearview mirror, she flees to the small Northern California coastal town where she grew up, a place she couldn't wait to leave. Now she finds herself revisiting the past, an emotionally distant father and the unanswered questions left by her mother's death. As she comes to terms with her lost marriage, Sarah encounters a man she never expected to meet again: Will Bonner, the high school heartthrob she'd skewered mercilessly in her old comics. Now a local firefighter, he's been through some changes himself. But just as her heart is about to reawaken, Sarah discovers she is pregnant. With her ex's twins.It's hardly the most traditional of new beginnings, but who says life and love are predictable...or perfect? The winds of change have led Sarah here. Now all she can do is just close her eyes...and breathe.

my review:
An excellant read!! I loved this book! I have never before read a book by Susan Wiggs, but I really enjoyed Sarah, Will & Aurora. But I especially liked her Grandma June & Aunt May. It was a roller coaster ride for me. There were a couple of times I just had put the book down, because I wasn't sure I would like were Sarah was going with certain decisions she was having to make. (Would she really think she needed to go back to that cheating boob, Jack?) Then I had to pick it back up again, because I knew in the end she would be ok, no matter what her decision was. This book shows how easy it is to become someone else, to fit into someone elses life, to let them make the decisions for your, to the point that you loose yourself. But it also shows you that it is possible to get back to being you.
This book, IMO, was one of the best stand alone reads I've come across lately. I will be picking up another Susan Wiggs book, very soon!

And The Winners Are...

The winners for the free copies of

Made in the U.S.A by Billie Letts are:

Linda

Janet

Alexa

I have sent emails to each of you.

Please email me your address as soon as possible.

Hachette Book Group will be mailing your book to you!

Thanks for participating!!

The Lemonade Stand Award!

An Award for Bloggers who showAttitude and Gratitude!

Thanks go to Bookin With Bingo for the Lemonade Stand Award!

It's to remind us all that when life gives us lemons, make Lemonade!

If your not already reading Bookin With Bingo, be sure and check it out.

Now here are the blogs that I am passing this award on to with hopes that they will post it and pass it on appropriately and continue to charm us with their sweet, not sour, blogs---

and they are also new blogs, or new to me, that I am following and want to show support for! So please go visit them!

Luxury Reading

Alaine-Queen of Happy Endings

Maggie Reads

Hopes Bookshelf

For The Love Of Books

The Optimistic Pessimist

Bookfan Mary

Books By Their Cover

Breaking The Spine

The Novel Bookworm

What the winners need to do for the award:

Here are the rules:

1) Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post

2) Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude

3) Link to your nominees within your post

4) Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog

5) Share the love and link to the person from whom you received your award

Thank you for your new, or new to me, blogs and I look forward to following you every day as you are now part of my blog list and I thank you for the joy you bring to so many!

In My Mailbox...

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren

I'm on vacation and my computers down at home, so here is just the list

Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Black Summer by Iris Johanson

The Summoning by Kellie Armstrong

The Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Seventeen-year-old Ever survived the car
crash that killed her parents, younger sister,
and their dog. Now she lives with an aunt in
Southern California, plagued not only by
survivor guilt but also by a new ability to
hear the thoughtsof all around her. She tries
to tune out all these distractionsby keeping
her hoodie up and her iPod cranked loud,
until Damen,the cute new boy at school,
convinces her to come out of her shell.


My review:
Another favorite author!! That's my first reaction to Alyson Noel's Evermore. My second reaction? HOW AM I GOING TO AFFORD ALL OF THESE BOOKS!!! LOL!


This is a book both teens & adults can enjoy. Alyson Noel has written a story that grips you from the beginning, and keeps your interest throughout the book. For me, it was a refreshing twist on heartbreak, love and immortality.

This is Alyson Noel's first book of the "Immortal" Series, with Blue Moon being released July 7th, 2009 in the US.

From the Alyson Noel website:
Dramatic rights have been sold to Spring Creek Productions and Warner Horizon for a TV series!
Woohoo! I've been waiting for a new show to come along!

Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood book1) by J.R. Ward

Set in present day Caldwell, New York ‘Dark Lover’ is the first in a series of novels about the Black Dagger Brotherhood. The Black Dagger Brotherhood is an ancient order of warrior vampires who defend their race against the lessers, vampire slayers who have been recruited by the Omega (an evil supernatural being who wants all vampires destroyed.) There are six warriors in the Brotherhood and these warriors are all that stand between the civilian vampires and the extinction of the vampire species at the hands of the lessers.
In the Black Dagger novels the vampires are a separate species to humans, to be a vampire you have to have been born carrying vampire blood. At the start of their lives vampires seem like humans, they have no special strengths and can go out in daylight but they go through a dangerous transition to vampire hood in their mid twenties. Although vampires can drink the blood of humans it has little nutritional value for them and they need to drink the blood of other vampires (of the opposite sex) to survive. A human bitten or drained by a vampire doesn’t rise as a vampire - they are just dead.
The vampires are few in number due to the legions of slayers hunting them down over the centuries, high infant mortality and the rigors of the transition to vampire hood that not all vampires survive.
The story focuses on the romance between Wrath, the only pure blooded vampire left on the planet, and Beth a human/vampire half breed who is about to undergo the transition from human to vampire but isn’t aware of her vampire heritage.
There are a lot of obstacles in their path. Wrath hates humans and doesn’t want a mate. Beth finds it hard to believe in her vampire heritage and doesn’t want to need Wrath. That would make their relationship difficult enough without them being the prime target for the lessers who are hatching a new strategy for wiping the vampires off the face of the earth.

My Review:

I like the glossary at the very beginning of the book. There were quite a few words that I had never heard before and it was nice knowing it was there.

This book was written well, the story line & plot were original and laid out well. The story flowed from page to page, chapter to chapter. With some books I've needed to re-read chapters, to ensure that I get all the details straight. One reason I read the books that I do: I do NOT want to have to think to hard about whats going on. I want to get lost in the book. It's important that characters are real while I'm reading about them. This book did exactly that for me! It also helps that Wrath is a 15 on a scale of 1-10!

Next in the series is "Lover Eternal" , which is Rhage's story. I can't wait!!!

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren.

Here I will post the books and anything else that I have gotten this week.It could be books, CD's, anything!!

In Susie's Mailbox This Week:

Blue Bloods (Melissa De La Cruz)

Schuyler Van Alen, 15, the last of the line in a distinguished
family, is being raised by her distant and forbidding grandmother.
Schuyler, her friend Oliver, and their new friend Dylan are treated
like outsiders by the clique of popular, athletic, and beautiful teens
made up of Mimi Force, her twin brother, and her best friend. What they have in
common is the fact that they are all Blue Bloods, or vampires.
They don't realize that they aren't normal until they reach age 15.
Then the symptoms manifest themselves and they begin to crave raw meat, have
nightmares about events in history, and get prominent blue veins in
their arms. Their immortality and way of life are threatened after Blue Blood
teens start getting murdered by a splinter group called the Silver Bloods.
Evermore (Alyson Noel)

Seventeen-year-old Ever survived the car crash that killed
her parents, younger sister, and their dog. Now she lives with
an aunt in Southern California, plagued not only by
survivor guilt but also by a new ability to hear the thoughts
of all around her. She tries to tune out all these distractions
by keeping her hoodie up and her iPod cranked loud, until Damen,
the cute new boy at school, convinces her to come out of her shell.
Masquerade (Melissa De La Cruz)

Schuyler Van Alen wants an explanation for the mysterious deaths
of young vampires. With her best friend, Oliver,
Schuyler travels to Italy in the hope of finding
the one man who can help--her grandfather. Meanwhile, back in New York,
preparations are feverishly underway for the Four Hundred Ball,
an exclusive gala hosted by the city's wealthy, powerful, and unhuman
--a true Blue Blood affair.But it's at the after-party, a Masquerade ball thrown by the cunning Mimi Force,
that the real danger lurks. Hidden behind the masks is a
revelation that will forever change the course of a
young vampire's destiny. Rich with glamour, attitude,
and vampire lore, this second installment in the Blue Bloods
saga will leave readers thirsting for more.

Dark Lover (J.R. Ward)

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a

secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors,defenders

of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath,the

leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood. The only purebredvampire left on

earth, Wrath has a score to settle with theslayers who murdered his parents

centuries ago. But, when one ofhis most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughterunaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into theworld of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

Book Giveaway~ Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts

Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: 2009-05-04
384 pages

About the Book:
The bestselling author of WHERE THE HEART IS returns with a heartrending
tale of two children in search of a place to call home.
Lutie McFee’s history has taught her to avoid attachments…to people, to places, and to almost everything. With her mother long dead and her father long gone to find his fortune in Las Vegas, 15-year-old Lutie lives in the god-forsaken town of Spearfish, South Dakota with her twelve-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, the 300-pound ex-girlfriend of her father.
While Lutie shoplifts for kicks, Fate spends most of his time reading, watching weird TV shows and worrying about global warming and the endangerment of pandas. As if their life is not dismal enough, one day, while shopping in their local Wal-Mart, Floy keels over and the two motherless kids are suddenly faced with the choice of becoming wards of the state or hightailing it out of town in Floy’s old Pontiac. Choosing the latter, they head off to Las Vegas in search of a father who has no known address, no phone number and, clearly, no interest in the kids he left behind.
MADE IN THE U.S.A. is the alternately heartbreaking and life-affirming story of two gutsy children who must discover how cruel, unfair and frightening the world is before they come to a place they can finally call home.

About the Contest:
Open to US and Canadian address. No PO Boxes please.
Five winners will be chosen on May 23.
A special thanks to Hachette Book Group.
To Win:
Leave a Comment with your name & email address

For an added chance, be a follower!

I will notify the winners by email and on my blog
on May 24th. Please respond within
24 hours with your mailing information!

Book Giveaway!

Caitlin is giving away 5 copies of

Testimony by Anita Shreve!

Hurry over and enter for your chance to win!

Synopsis: At a New England boarding school, a sex scandal is about tobreak. Even more shocking than the sexual acts themselves is the fact that they were caught on videotape. A Pandora's box of revelations, the tape triggers a chorus of voices--those of the men, women, teenagers, and parents involved in the scandal--that details the ways in which lives can be derailed or destroyed in one foolish moment.

Writing with a pace and intensity surpassing even her own greatest work, Anita Shreve delivers in TESTIMONY a gripping emotional drama with the impact of a thriller. No one more compellingly explores the dark impulses that sway the lives of seeming innocents, the needs and fears that drive ordinary men and women into intolerable dilemmas, and the ways in which our best intentions can lead to our worst transgressions.

Is it August yet?

My Soul To Take will be the first book released in Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series, due out in August....Start the count down!

SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH KAYLEE CAVANAUGH

She doesn't see dead people, but...
She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next...
SOUL SCREAMERS
The last thing you hear before you die...

Southern Reading 2009 Challenge

As a new blogger, I was lurking, I mean looking around at other blogs to follow.

I found this reading challenge at Maggie Reads. I think it will be great to get out of my "comfort" reading zone.

Maggie says:
"The time when you pour a glass of lemonade or sweet tea and take your official summer spot on the porch. Lean back in that chase lounge surrounded by geraniums and ferns, and begin the summer long journey into Southern culture."

Here are the rules:"You may choose to read any style of Southern book such as Appalachian tales, Civil War sagas, Gothic myths, Grit lit, and heart-wrenching biographies. Just as long as you read three (fiction or nonfiction) between May 15th and August 15th."

My chosen reads for 2009 are:

The Awakening by Katie Chopin
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest Gaines
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

0 / 3 books- 0% done!

Vision In White~Nora Roberts

This is the first book of NR's new quartet series. The next is: Bed Of Roses, due out in November...

This is a great story about 4 longtime female friends who, as kids played "Wedding Day." They married each other, their little brothers, the dog, cat you name it!
When they grew up, they start their own business helping people have their best "Wedding Day".
Mac (the photographer) is content being single, working with her gal pals, then she meets Carter and her world as she knows it gets turned upside down.

Giveaway! City Of Bones

Just finished this book last night and LOVED it! I liked it so much, I want to share! So, I was thinking if anyone wanted the book (it has been read once) just leave me a comment and I will mail it to you. BUT there are a couple of stipulations:

• you must be a follower
• you have not read the book
• when your finished reading it, you pass it to someone who hasn't read it!

The deadline will be May 15th and the winner notified here on the 16th!

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren.
Here I will post the books and anything else that I have gotten this week.
It could be books, CD's, anything!!

In Susie's Mailbox This Week:

I actually picked these up at Walmart...

Night World #1 (L.J. Smith)
Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters-they live
among us without our knowledge. Night Workd is their
secret society, a secret society with very strict rules.
And falling in love breaks all the laws of Night World.

City of Bones (Cassandra Clare)
When Clare Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in
New York City, she hardly expects to witness a muder. Much
less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with odd
markings.

City of Ashes (Cassandra Clare)
A murderer is loose in New York City...
and the victims are Downworlder children.
Clary Fray and her fellow Shadowhunters have
a strong suspicion that Valentine, Clary's father,
may be behind the killings.

Vision In White (Nora Roberts)
Wedding photographer Mackensie "Mac" Elliot
is most at home behind the camera, but her focus
is shattered moments before an important wedding
rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be's brother
...an encounter that has them both seeing stars.

Going tomorrow...

to see:

X-Men Origins-Wolverine

YES! I thought I was going to have to wait until next weekend.

But I'm splurging and going on Sunday! Woohoo! You can't see it,

but I am do my bootie dance!

It's my "Hugh Jackson is HOT!" bootie dance!

Oh, you don't believe how hot he is?

Check these out!

See, told ya!

My love/hate relationship with Walmart...

I stopped at Walmart Thursday night on the way home, just to grab my nicotine patches (couldn't believe how much cheaper they were there!). Walked by the book section and just had to stop. Nora had a new book come out Tuesday, Vision in White and I knew there were a couple of others that I was wanting to take a look at and see if they were interesting enough for me to actually buy or see if the UBS had them.

Heres what I walked out with last night:

Vision In White by Nora Roberts
City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare
City Of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Night World No. 1 by L.J. Smith

a cute hobo tote bag on sale for $10!
a Slim Jim with cheddar cheese stick
and the Equate nicotine patches.

Needless to say, I walked out with alot more than I expected! This is why I say I have a love/hate relationship with Walmart. I always walk out spending more than I originally planned. And it can be explained, trust me. Well, the patches are $10 cheaper than they are anywhere else, so that pays for the bag. And I would have to actually drive to the UBS to see if they even have the books that I want, and if they don't then it's a wasted a trip, etc...see? I have a very rational explantion for it. At least its rational in my mind. I go in expecting to spend my $35 and walk out spending over $70. WTH?!? I think they pump something in the air to make you lose all sense.

oh the weather outside is...cold?

I was wearing capris and tee shirts a couple of weeks ago, just as soon as the temp hit 58.Today, it's 60ish and I'm wishing I still had my little space heater at my desk, because I'm freezing! We hit temps around 80 over the weekend, and now I'm cold. (insert sarcasm here please) I love Indiana weather.

I spent the weekend cleaning the yard from all the winter time muck, cleaning off the outside furniture, that sort of thing. It was truly a beautiful weekend! I'm thinking of buying a new gas grill this summer, along with a new patio set for the back yard. Now this is my "dream" grill, but this is what I will probably end up buying. Not that there is anything wrong with the grill that I will be buying, but come on! My dream grill is built in and runs on natural gas! Who wouldn't love that?!? Only crazy people. Yep, I said, only a crazy person wouldn't want the Cadillac of grills!

Hunted by P.C Cast + Kristin Cast

From Amazon:

The good news: Zoey’s friends have her back again and Stevie Rae and the red fledglings aren’t Neferet’s secrets any longer. The bad news: Ancient evil with the face of an angel has been let loose – that and various other nasties (whose faces aren’t so angelic). Grandma Redbird is in trouble. Heath is in trouble. The House of Night is in trouble. Okay, let’s face it – Zoey’s whole world is in trouble! But when the trouble comes from a being who appears to be beauty personified, will the world believe it? Especially when only a teenager and a group of misfits are the only ones who really understand the danger he brings. Will Zoey have the strength and wisdom to reveal the truth? Especially when, in the House of Night, the truth is often hard to come by…

Personally, I didn't care for this book as well as the others. I thought there was just too much back story. Not enough "NOW". I'm used to reading series that could be stand alones, where they author tells the story and includes little tidbits from previous books. I still like the gang, but I'm VERY glad I didn't actually buy this book (I borrowed my sons girlfriends copy) since my USB does not take hardbacks in for trade. And if I had bought this book, I would have wanted to trade it in.