What to Read? … What to Read?

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“My awesome fake summer tan. Obviously. It’s not like I have a pool in downtown Manhattan to lounge by, and anyway it’s way too muggy and humid in this city to stay outside for more than twenty seconds, so how could I get naturally sun-kissed? Unfortunately my camp tan is long gone. But is my fake tan a spray-on? Nope. Is it from one of those tanning booths that could pass for a medieval torture chamber? Again, nope.

What is it then? Why, I call it The Perfect Golden Tan That Makes Me Look Like I Live in California Spell. (Patent pending.)”

Do you have a young teen on your list this year? If you do why not pick up a copy of Parties & Potions, written by Sarah Mlynowski. This will be released December 23, 2008, just in time for the last minute gift getting.

Perfect hair, cute clothes, healthy tans—life’s a breeze when you’re a witch! Even special witchcraft classes Rachel agrees to attend with Miri turn out to be fun. The sisters meet other teen witches just like them—who knew? Everyone’s preparing for a magical party called a Samsorta—a debutante ball for witches. And it wouldn’t be a ball without warlocks. Cute ones. Like Adam, who wants to slow dance with Rachel, and ski with her in the Rockies—on a school night! Of course, Rachel is madly in love with her boyfriend, Raf. So why can’t she bring herself to tell Adam—funny, charming Adam—that Raf exists?

Rachel knows Raf likes her. Maybe even, gulp, loves her. But Raf doesn’t know her secret. Unlike Adam, Raf doesn’t know who she really is. And she can never tell him. Or can she?

This is the fourth book in Mlynowski’s Magic In Manhattan series. For those who are looking to get your teen into a new series why not try this teen lit. With its light and fun plot what girl would not fall for this series? Now don’t forget December 23, 2008.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“She made a stunning cat burglar, dressed entirely in black spandex that molded to her waist and sweetly curved hips. Her golden hair hung in a ponytail down her back. The ends swished gently across her shoulder blades as she moved her head from side to side, scanning the bookshelf.

She stepped to the side, silent in her black socks. She must have left her shoes outside the window, thinking she’d move more quietly without them. He noted her slim ankles, then let his gaze wander back up to golden hair. He would have to be careful capturing her. Like any Vamp, he had super strength, and she looked a bit fragile.

He moved silently past the wingback chairs to the window. It made a swooshing sound as he shut it.

With a gasp, she turned toward him. Her eyes widened. Eyes green as the hills surrounding his home in Scotland.”

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth…or maybe a vampire, yes that’s it a vampire. I wonder if Santa can fit one in my stocking? Well maybe if he is unable to the jolly red man can leave me All I Want For Christmas Is a Vampire written by Kerrelyn Sparks.

Toni Davis’s Christmas wish list

1. Springing my best friend from the psych ward.

2. Living somewhere that doesn’t have coffins in the basement. Occupied coffins.

3. Finding Mr. Right. Please make him tall, dark, handsome, and alive.

This Christmas isn’t so merry for Toni. Her best friend’s been locked up in a mental hospital ever since she told the police she was attacked by vampires, and the only way for Toni to get her out is to prove that bloodsuckers really do exist. So she’s taken a job as a bodyguard for the Undead, but she gets more than she bargained for, especially when she meets Ian MacPhie, a Scottish rascal looking for Ms. Right.

Although Ian’s nearly five centuries old, he looks and acts like a twenty-seven-year-old hunk.

How can a dead man be so damn sexy? Could Mr. Wrong be Mr. Right? One forbidden kiss could lead to an eternity of passion—and all it takes is one moment under the mistletoe . . .

This is book 5 in the Love at Stake series; Sparks has managed to keep her series consistent; consistently funny that is, from the personal add that Ian’s friends place for him to the dialogue between Ian and Toni. Chalk this up as a fun light read and maybe if you are really good you will find that Vampire in your stocking.

Happy Reading

Sarah

Thank you Amazon for the picture

“Elizabeth took tight control of a rush of emotion; even though this news had been long expected, deep down she had not believed she would ever hear those words. She took a moment to absorb them, then said, “There’s nothing much to say, is there, Cecil? Nothing at all, actually, and anyway, what would be the point? I’m not a hypocrite, I’m not going to pretend I mourn my sister’s death.””

I spent a wonderful night curled up under a blanket devouring my newest purchase, Being Elizabeth written by Barbara Taylor Bradford.

At age twenty-five, Elizabeth Deravenel finds herself in a position few women her age could image: the head of Deravenels, a business empire that spans the globe. It’s a company whose reach is wide and whose secrets are deep. Deravenels has roots that go far back in her family’s history, and she knows the price that many had to pay to see it reach the success it is today. And Elizabeth is the youngest executive in the company she now leads. Surrounded by rumors and disloyalty, she knows that there are many people who would give anything to take down the company–and her with it. With her enemies circling, she finds herself at a crossroad of choices involving her mind, her heart, and her destiny. As scandal surrounds the one man she’s ever loved, Elizabeth discovers how the next move she makes could have deadly and final consequences.

Uh oh…A one dimensional character, a plot with no twists and turns; this is unlike Bradford. Unfortunately this one is a miss for me, however don’t give up hope, while we are waiting for her next book to come out why not try one of her previous ones. Better luck next time.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me. Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothing was changed. My mother had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief-sized family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by the procession of my school pictures up to last year’s. Those were embarrassing to look at - I would have to see what I could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least while I was living here.”

Holy movies Batman! I just finished reading Breaking Dawn, I won’t say any more then that and I just saw the poster for Twilight! So just to let you know buy your tickets WAY in advanced of December 12, 2008. Now where did I put that sleeping bag?

Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because–he’s a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship. Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. She begins with a familiar YA premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another realistic young adult novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks on the gloomy Olympic Peninsula to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. For Edward’s sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst.

Meyer’s has been compared to J.K. Rowling, the only similarity between the two of them is that both of their series became an instant hit virtually overnight and both have been turned into movies. If you haven’t started this series I suggest that you do. Not to worry you have plenty of time to read the first book before the movie hits theaters.

Happy Reading

Sarah

Thank you Amazon for the picture

“A man pushes forward with a microphone – ‘And is there oxygen?’ Yes, there is. ‘And fresh water?’ Abundant. ‘And no pollution?’ None. Are there minerals? Is there gold? What’s the weather like? Does it rain a lot? Has anyone tried the fish? Are there any humans? No, there are not any humans. Any intelligent life at all?
Depends what you mean by intelligent. There is something there, yes, and it’s very big and very good at its job.
A picture of a scaly-coated monster with metal-plated jaws appears on the overhead screen. The crowd shrieks and swoons. No! Yes! No! Yes!
The most efficient killing machine ever invented before gunpowder. Not bad for a thing with a body the size of a stadium and a brain the size of a jam-jar.”

I’ve got a lovely bunch of books Diddly Dee and the one that I have just finished reading as of this morning is The Stone Gods written by Jeanette Winterson.

Heroine Billie Crusoe appears in three different end-of-the-world scenarios, allowing Winterson to explore the repetitive and destructive nature of human history and an inability (or unwillingness) of people to learn from previous mistakes. In the first section, inhabitants of the pollution-choked planet Orbus have discovered Planet Blue (Earth), and soon set about launching an asteroid at it to kill the dinosaurs that would prevent them from colonizing the planet. The second and third sections are set on Earth in 1774 and then in the Post-3 War era. Though passionate condemnations of global warming and war appear frequently, the book also contains a triptych love story: Billie meets Spike, a female Robo sapien capable of emotion and evolution, and falls (reluctantly) in love with her. In each of the scenarios, Billie and Spike (or versions of them) fall in love anew while encroaching annihilation looms in the background. Winterson’s lapses into polemic can be tedious, but her prose—as stunning, lyrical and evocative as ever—and intelligence easily carry the book.

This book may not be for every reader, as the writing is an acquired taste of brief sentences and paragraphs. But it is a book that will make you think and rue Earth’s future. Do you dare travel to a post apocalyptic Earth?

Happy Reading

Sarah

Thank you Amazon for the picture

“Kirov!

No, it couldn’t be Kirov, Jennings thought frantically, as he ran down the dock. Kirov was dead. Pavski had given him his word that the stories were all lies. He’d laughed and said that a ghost couldn’t kill.

And the person behind him was no ghost. It didn’t have to be Kirov. Jennings had made a lot of enemies in his life and any one of them might be the man behind him.”

A quiet weekend at last; no work; no running around and no having to see family; the only obligation I had was to dig into a new book. Ah now THAT is a perfect weekend. Hmm, I’m sorry what was that? Oh what did I read? Well that would have been Silent Thunder written by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen.

It was the assignment of a lifetime… Brilliant marine architect Hannah Bryson has been given the job of a lifetime. A U.S. maritime museum has just acquired the decommissioned Soviet submarine Silent Thunder for public exhibition. It’s Hannah’s job to make sure that every single inch of the legendary nuclear attack sub is safe for the thousands of visitors anticipated. Enlisting the aid of her brother, Connor, they examine the enormous vessel and delve into its long–and lethal–history. But is it really a trap? In the course of their investigation, Connor discovers a mysterious message behind one of the ship’s panels. But before he can figure out what it means, there’s a deadly assault on Silent Thunder… Though the U.S. government tries to warn Hannah away, she’ll stop at nothing to find the ruthless mastermind behind her brother’s death. Even if it means joining forces with a mysterious man who may be even more dangerous than the enemy she has sworn to bring down. As Hannah finds herself in the crossfire of an epic standoff, her only hope for survival is to unravel the sub’s explosive secret. But someone’s willing to kill to make sure Silent Thunder stays silent.

This was a co-effort between mother and son, how cool is that. Now was it a good effort, depends on who you are talking to; since you are talking to me then I would have to say yes for the most part. The action was good and there was a hint of romance but not overly. However there were times when the characters needed to be slightly more in character; but like I said it was only a few times. Do I recommend this book? Well yeah so go and get your copy…Now.

Happy Reading

Sarah

Thank you Amazon for the picture

“And it was true. For several months, there had been nothing discussed at the Opera but this ghost in dress-clothes who stalked about the building, from top to bottom, like a shadow, who spoke to nobody, to whom nobody dared speak and who vanished as soon as he was seen, no one knowing how or where. As became a real ghost, he made no noise in walking. People began by laughing and making fun of this specter dressed like a man of fashion or an undertaker; but the ghost legend soon swelled to enormous proportions among the corps de ballet. All the girls pretended to have met this supernatural being more or less often. And those who laughed the loudest were not the most at ease. When he did not show himself, he betrayed his presence or his passing by accident, comic or serious, for which the general superstition held him responsible. Had any one met with a fall, or suffered a practical joke at the hands of one of the other girls, or lost a powderpuff, it was at once the fault of the ghost, of the Opera ghost.

After all, who had seen him? You meet so many men in dress-clothes at the Opera who are not ghosts. But this dress-suit had a peculiarity of its own. It covered a skeleton. At least, so the ballet-girls said. And, of course, it had a death’s head.”

I was feeling a little down today so I decided I would watch some retro cartoons (the ones I grew up with) well that didn’t cheer me up and then I got bored. Off to the book shelf I went and brought down a well read and loved book. The Phantom of the Opera written by Gaston Leroux and before you ask it WAS a book before it was turned into a musical. By the time the book was finished I was in a much better mood.

In 1910, the mystery novelist Gaston Leroux, working from scraps of history, theatrical lore, and his own fertile imagination, created a masterpiece in Le fantome de l’opera, the story of a disfigured composer who lives in the labyrinthine depths of the Paris Opera. After the breathtaking debut of Christine Daae, the whispers of an Opera ghost seem to become reality as the young singer vanishes. As the Phantom strikes again and again, targeting foes from a jealous diva to a romantic rival, Leroux spins a thriller of obsession and violence with, at its center, a tormented murderer who awakens our deepest fears and sympathies. The inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-running musical, Leroux’s novel is still more riveting than anything Broadway could produce.

Although I love the musical I love the book more. If you haven’t read the book, you should; if you haven’t seen the musical you should. Both will take your breath away.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“I wrapped my legs around his waist, so I could admire my sequined leopard-print pumps (don’t even ask me what they cost). Then I grinned up at him, I couldn’t help it, and he smiled back, his dark eyes narrow with lust. It was so awesome to be a newlywed. And I was almost done with my thank-you notes!”

Who here likes a really good laugh? I know I do; I love nothing more than a good book that can put a smile on my face and make me smirk or even laugh out loud. I picked up Undead and Unworthy which is the 7^th book in the Queen Betsy series written by the witty and ever talented Mary Janice Davidson.

“No one does humorous romantic fantasy better than the incomparable Mary Janice Davidson” (The Best Reviews), and nobody reigns over the undead with more savvy than her heroine Betsy Taylor, back to rule the nights as Vampire Queen––and survive the days as a new suburban bride. But it’s not all marital bliss. Betsy’s husband, Sinclair, has been perusing The Book of the Dead, Betsy’s being hounded by a ghost who’s even more insufferable in death than in life, and a pack of formerly feral vampires has decided to pay an unwelcome visit…

Well this was a little bit of a letdown. Now before you go and string me up by my little ears hear me out. Although the book was humorous it was not nearly as funny as when the series first started. Now this could be that my taste in books has changed or maybe my sense of humor has become more…well sarcastic would be a good word. But I will say this; it’s not horrible, just not Roll on the floor laughing my ass off funny. If you are a fan you will enjoy this book. If you are not don’t worry you can pretty much pick up a book from anywhere in this series and still get the idea of what’s going on, but if in doubt start at the beginning.

Happy Reading

Sarah

Thank you Amazon for the picture

“I’m a product now?

Look, either we do this my way, or we don’t do it at all.

Fine. I’m a product. Whatever . . .

Project mission: To rebrand product in order to make it irresistible to target audience, prompting target audience to declare its undying love for product and to propose marriage.

Timescale: 50 days

Target audience: Anthony Milton (product’s boss and gorgeous-looking advertising world A-lister)”

Have you run out of summer reads yet? You shouldn’t you still have 2 whole months left. Let’s start the rest of the summer off right and read The Importance of Being Married written by Gemma Townley.

This is the first novel in Gemma Townley’s exciting new Wild trilogy; The Importance of Being Married introduces an irresistible heroine caught up in a scheme that could change her life forever.

Jessica Wild isn’t big on commitment. But after inheriting millions from Grace, a sweet old lady she met in her grandmother’s nursing home, the situation seems to have changed. To put an end to the many questions about her nonexistent love life, Jess had led Grace to believe she had a boyfriend-turned-fiancé-turned-husband: her glamorous boss, Anthony Milton. But Jess’s fantasy to keep Grace happy has backfired–Grace has passed away and left her fortune not to Jessica Wild but to Mrs. Jessica Milton.

Having weighed all legal options, Jess comes to the realization that there’s only one thing she can do: get Anthony to fall in love with her and pop the question for real. With help from her feisty best friend, Helen, Jess reluctantly learns the art of flirting, seduction, and playing hard to get. But just when it appears that Anthony is about to ask the (literal) million-dollar question, Jess finds herself wondering if it’s right to say “I do” for all the wrong reasons.

Well there you go girls a new trilogy on its way; this is a fast pace wonderful chick lit Cinderella caper and if you are a fan of Townley’s then you will definitely enjoy this book.

Happy Reading

Sarah

Thank you Amazon for the picture

“MARCUS ALEXANDER STUART HATED AIRPORTS. MOST people shared the sentiment, he supposed, but few of them probably shared his resoning. Most of them probably despised the waiting and the lines and the inconvenience of the ever changing rules of security screening. Marcus-Max-just hated the way they smelled.”

Well; well; well I almost missed Christine Warren’s new book Walk on the Wild Side; this is book 5 in The Other series. I know I was nearly disgusted with myself for almost missing this. My only excuse is too many books and not enough eyes. Yes that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Christine Warren lives on the East Coast, because landlocked states make her claustrophobic. Her only other fear is that she will one day run out of reading material, an eventuality she seeks to prevent by doing the writing herself, she draws on her degrees in literature and history, as well as her vivid imagination and a wealth of useless knowledge, to tell stories she enjoys about people who entertain her. In doing this, she figures that someone, somewhere, will eventually laugh at her jokes.

Kitty Sugarman is a lot tougher than her name implies. Still, she’s content with how her small- town life keeps her removed from all the changes happening in the world-like the Unveiling of the “Others”. That is, until a near-tragedy strikes and Kitty discovers she has abilities . . . thanks to a father she never knew was alive. He also happens to be a were-lion and leader of one of the most powerful Prides out West. When Kitty heads to Vegas to find out more about her father, it’s his sexy, seductive second-in-command or baas of the Pride, Marcus Stewart, who commands her attention. Now that she has tempted Marcus’s hunger for a mate, Kitty finds herself stuck in a vicious struggle for her father’s fortune, while deadly unrest stirs within the pride. Kitty’s rivals won’t rest until she’s gone for good, but Marcus will fight until his last breath to save her…even if it means going against the pride.

Walk on the Wild Side is a standalone book set in Warren’s world of the “Others” but since we are out of Rafe and Graham’s realm none of the running cast from the previous books appears. While there were parts of the book that I enjoyed, there was just something `missing’ with the story and the romance. Kitty and Max’s relationship was so straight forward - even their animal forms were “compatible” and even with some peril for Kitty in the background plot there just wasn’t enough tension built between the leads. Max was your typical gorgeous pushy alpha male so part of that might have been due to Kitty. Her practicality and the folksy wisdom which appeals to Max also result in the leveling of her emotional reactions - her being angry with her Father fizzles pretty quickly and all of her near death experiences doesn’t phase her much. If you are a fan of Warren’s “Others” you will probably find this pleasant enough but Walk on the Wild Side just doesn’t have Warren’s usual sizzle. If this is your first foray into the world of the “Others”, don’t stop here. The “Others” series is one of my favorite paranormal romance series with many flavors of shape shifters, vampires, faes and demons all finding their soul-mates, so do yourself a favor and check out the previous books.

Happy Reading

Sarah