from Goodreads.com

 Every few days, I log on to Goodreads.com and search for give-a-ways. These are usually books that I would not normally buy for myself but would like to read, nonetheless (who still uses this word?) and also books that I haven't gotten around to adding to my pile at Half Price or Barnes and Noble. And let's face it, who doesn't like free stuff?

My latest gift from the good people at Goodreads.com is Hittin' It by Amie Stuart. As soon as it arives, I plan to dive in face first. I've already received The Real Thing by JJ Murrary and BREAKFAST IN BED by Sandra Brown from previous contests (Sandra even sent me an extra book. How awesome is that?)

Currently Reading: McKettrick's of Texas: Austin

McKettricks of Texas: Austin by Linda Lael Miller





Reading this book on Kindle for Blackberry. Very good book so far. I think people will love Austin's story.



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Heartbreak Hotel

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford



My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story of Henry and Keiko is beautifully written and keeps you turning the pages. Jamie Ford tells his tale in 1942 and 1986, giving the reader a chance to know Henry as a young Chinese boy living during WWII and Seattle's jazz era. Henry is the only Chinese boy at an all white school and Keiko is the only Japanese girl there as well, and the story of their friendship is simply heartbreaking.



The story begins about when President Roosevelt signs Executive Orders to have people of Japanese, German, and Italian descent removed to internment camps (for their own safety). Henry and Keiko struggle to keep their friendship alive through WWII and beyond. This is book makes a statement about civil rights, race relations, and the beauty of unconditional friendship. Worth the time that it takes to enjoy.



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So I know this book has been out for a while but  since I'd never read it, it was all news to me anyway. Midnight Awakening is the third installment of Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed's series and I must say that this book is pretty good. Tegan is a Gen-One vampire and the most fear warrior in the Order. Elise is a Breedmate, widowed some five years and one a mission to avenge the death of her son. These two find themselves working together to track another Gen-One warrior long thought dead. Really interesting things happen when Elise uses Tegan for survival and Tegan allows her to do it. (Pretty hot, too).

 It's getting pretty crowded in the vampire genre, so it's wonderful to find a series that has a mystery. I already know what vamps do during daylight hours, etc., etc. However, Adrian has managed to keep my interest peaked because of the journey that these guys will have to go on in order to find a real bad guy. Oh, then they find him, kill him and then find that there is someone out there even badder than the first guy. Oh, yeah.  Definitely off to book four.

There are eight books currently in the series, the latest installment Taken by Midnight, to be released September 2010. Better get cracking so I can be caught up by then.

Hopeless Romantic

The Fairest of Them All by Leanne Banks


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I LOVE THIS BOOK. I'M GONNA FIND IT AND BUY IT .....RIGHT NOW!

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The most hated book I ever read...

As a self-acclaimed bibliophile, I find it almost impossible to that I have found a book the I could not stomach. I mean I actually wanted to take it back to the store and ask for a refund. Of course it was way past the return period. So.....I threw the book away (head hanging in shame).
I mean I have read Mein Kampf, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, read the Iliad several times, waded through William Faulkner (ugh) and still this one book was the one that brought me low...A Purpose Driven Life.Don't judge me.
I had to read this book while in college at a Baptist university and people acted like Paul the Apostle had re-written Christian doctrine. There were people claiming that they got SAVED by reading this book. Really? To me it was a mish-mash of Scripture from 88 different
translations. I just couldn't get past it. To be fair, it's probably a very useful tool for some but I'm forever tainted by my experience with a bunch of holy rollers thumping that book around for a 10 week quarter.

Have I offended anyone yet? Good. Books are supposed to shake you up a bit.

Breakfast in Bed

Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Thanx to Goodreads.com and Sandra Brown, I won this edition in a giveaway. Though I had read this book before, I so enjoyed reading it again.

This book was first published in 1983, so I was thinking that I wold be getting some pretty generic love scenes and overly dramatic dislouge,etc. Boy! Was I wrong. Sandra Brown must have gotten some seriously raised eyebrows on this on. Sloan Fairchild and Carter Madison are super likeable characters. They are two people who have an impossible attraction and Sloan is at odds on what to do about it. Truly a good read.

P.S. I cut my romance reading teeth on Loveswept books. I used walk to the library and hoard every Loveswept novel I could find. Most times I never even bothered to read the descriptions on the back of the book. There was a certain feeling that I would get when reading on of these books; near euphoria. Had I been able to name it, I would have known that I'm one of those people who believe in the power and necessity of a good fairy tale. One memorable Loveswept novel was one about a widowed mother with seven brothers and her dead husband's best friend. This was the cutest book! The little boy in the book used to say "good morgoling, dar-gling". I still say that sometimes. I'm saying all this to say, I love romance novels and am not ashamed of reading them out in public and in the company of non-believers in fairy tales.

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Now reading...

A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh
The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
and courtesy of Goodreads.Com and Sandra Brown, Breakfast in Bed .

I don't have to return to work until Monday, so I have plenty of time to knock these books out.

OIL?

I didn't know that a successful presidency hinges on an oil spill. Go figure!

I have an addiction:

I have an addiction: I buy books in print and then go and download more for my Blackberry. I might need HELP?

Tsk-Tsk

Since when do American politicians outright defame a President ? When did that become ok? Oh yeah. 11/04/2008.

Yes! This is about race. There's no other way to explain it and no other reason for it. Since America has elected a non-white male as a President, it's been open season on racially charged comments, rants, and jokes. Comments that later turn into apologies for what was meant as humor and was taken in the wrong context. People, there is no incorrect context when it comes to calling someone a "raghead". There is no incorrect context calling the President a liar on the floor of the Senate during a televised State of the Union speech. The context is always absolutely spot-on. However, it is always easier to apologize than to ask permission.

Sen. Jakes Knotts is just one in a long line of members from the Old Boys Club who would rather die than be loyal to the current President. Because he is Black. Because he is Black. Because he is Black. There it is. Because he is Black. To say that these comments and outbursts are not racialy motivated and are being taken out of context, is to say that you agree with the comments,or at the very least, are apathetic to what is means to the people to whom they are directed. This is not an isolated incident and will continue to plague the President throughout his term. I can't wait until he can address these bigots with as much fire and fervor as he is being attacked with.

BEASTS BEHAVING BADLY BY SHELLEY

BEASTS BEHAVING BADLY BY SHELLEY LAURENSTON. Funny. Sexy. Must have for shifter fans

Red Demon by Deidre Knight

Finished Red Demon and I really liked it. I love series that do a good job of focucing on a central plot but also answers questions that have lingered since that last installment. Knight has a wonderful way of bringing closure to characters issues as well as presenting readers with something else to look forward to. The feud with Ares continues and there are some serious issues concerning Leonidas and Daphne; also Sable is fighting an uphill battle with Sophie and the vision that she's had about their shared future. As good as it was, I think that Red Demon was not dynamic as the first two books. Aristos and Juliana were finally reunited but Juliana really started to get on my nerves. I wanted her to be more involved in her rescue like Shay and Emma. Maybe she'll have gained some strength the next time we meet her?

Botton line: Good book and worth the cover (or Kindle) price.