Sunday, September 30, 2012

What's In My Beach Bag #11

What's In My Beach Bag will be a weekly post about all the books & other goodies that I've bought, borrowed or won :)

Wow.. okay, I know it's been a good 3-4 weeks since I've done a WIMBB. I've gotten a lot of books and stuff over the past 3-4 weeks. I just haven't had the time to sit here and write a post. But, I am determined to get back to my posting and what better way to kick off the new week/new month (one more day) then to share with you the goodies I've gotten! Bare with me... it's a lot. 
Received For Review 
*Click on covers to take you to GoodReads*

Review Soon To Come

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Bought/Won/Freebies

          

 
♥Thanks to Delilah S. Dawson for Wicked As They Come (Won from Crystal @ Reading Between The Wines)
♥Thanks To Linda Poitevin for Sins of The Son (Won @ Linda Poitevin's blog)
♥Thanks to Readers Service for Wolf Whisperer by Karen Whiddon & Phantom of Evil by Heather Graham
♥Thanks to Myra Nour for Love's Captive (Won @ Salacious Reads
♥Bought A Caress of Twilight by Laurell K. Hamilton for $1.00 at my local Dollar Book Store 

Well, that's it! These past 3-4 weeks have been adding up. *sigh* Did y'all get anything awesome this week?

Random Rants #12


Random Rants is a weekly post I am starting that I will post on Sundays. I will be ranting about things I loved or didn't love from the past week...these rants may or may not pertain to books.
WHERE THE HELL I'VE BEEN
So, I'm sure a lot of you have noticed that I've been MIA for a while. There's a great explanation for that. Well... maybe not great lol. But, you get the point. Anywho...Most of you know I started school back in August and I knew my schedule was gonna change SLIGHTLY but I did NOT think it would change DRAMATICALLY! *sigh* Schools pretty much keeping me busy. I only have classes on Mondays & Wednesdays and you would think to be seeing me around on my off days right? WRONG! lol. Studying and homework take up a chunk of my blogging time. So now my blogging time has been handed over to my reading time. I joined a whole bunch of tours a few months ago and didn't realize that I was an idiot and scheduled them so close together, so you'll be seeing a lot of blog tour reviews. School isn't the only thing taking up my precious time. I've had a few blog design requests and that's kept me busy as well. I squeeze in reading whenever I can, so blogging has come to a complete halt. Which sucks, I know. But you gotta do what cha gotta do, right? I do plan on making a complete 180 and start posting daily like I used to & start joining in on the weekly meme's that I've been missing out on. AND visiting you awesome bloggers! HAVE NO FEAR!! ANA IS HERE! lol. I've got a lot of ideas that have been roaming around in my head and I plan on executing them starting Oct. 1st! I hope to be back and get things up and running again. 

SCHOOL UPDATE
Ahh. Like I said above, school has been taking up a lot of my time. I'm at school from 3:30pm - 10pm on Mondays and 3:30 - 6pm on Wednesdays. It's not a lot, but it is tiresome. So far, I've had 2 homework assignments and have got full credit on those (does happy dance) lol. I've had one quiz for my accounting class, which I get back on Monday *crossing fingers* I hope I passed that one with flying colors, because it seemed really, really, REALLY easy. I've had 6 lab assignments and am averaging a 9.3/10 on those. So, that's great right? *sigh* When I started school I thought Macroeconomics was going to be really easy and Accounting was going to be a bit of a struggle for me... well, its the exact OPPOSITE! I am sooooo friggin' lost in Macro its insane! I sit there, take notes and read the book, but for the life of me I still don't get it! When we start doing math and what not, I get it no problem, but the other stuff? *sigh* I'm a complete doorknob with the other stuff... Accounting? Yeah, I feel a lot more confident in that class. Despite it being a night class, I feel like I understand the material and it's coming really easily to me. Doesn't hurt that my professor is awesome and will stop the lecture in the middle of class and ask what the football scores are that night. lol. 

Well, that's it for my ranting this week. Just wanted to update you guys a but on what's been going on and what not. Hope y'all had an awesome week :) 

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway: Two Moons of Sera by Pavarti K. Tyler

Promo + Giveaway
Hey!! Thanks for stopping by! This tour is brought to you by: Full Moon Bites Blog Tours. Don't forget to fill in the rafflecopter below for your chance to win:
  • Ebook copy of Two Moons of Sera Vol. 1-3 by Pavarti K Tyler
  • SWAG Pack
  • $5.00 GC

Two Moons of Sera
(Volumes 1 - 3) 
Amazon
Author: Pavarti K. Tyler
Publisher: Fighting Money Press
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
eBook Pages: Approx. 220
ASIN: B005U81SCQ


SUMMARY:
Two Moons of Sera Synopsis: In a world where water and earth teem with life, Serafay is an anomaly. The result of genetic experiments on her mother's water-borne line Serafay will have to face the very people responsible to discover who she really is. But is she the only one?

All the Fun of YA written for Adults

Two Moons of Sera is a Fantasy/Romance being released in serial format.


MY REVIEW:

Two Moons of Sera first introduces us to Serafay who is half Sualwet and half Erdlander. Shuned from her Sualwet side and afraid of her Erdlander side, Sera and her mother find themselves alone living as best they could. When Sera meets Torkek and immediately finds that she she is both fascinated by him and believe him to be Erdlander, of whom she was raised to fear. But Tor is different too and he and Sera have a bond that will keep them together on their journey.

Laaawd. I liked so much about this book. I know the characters in this book are roughly 13-18ish, no older than 20ish, other than the rare adult, BUT, I couldn't help but feel like the characters were older. Not a bad thing really, I quite enjoyed this. I found myself liking Tor even more, despite his 17 years young self. He's definitely the strong and silent type. I liked Sera's character as well, she's young (just turned 16) but her mind has far exceeded thus of a teenie bopper! I didn't NOT like anything in this book, I loved the characters and the whole fantasy plot. This being my first fantasy book and all, I really enjoyed it and loved learning more about the Sualwet's and Erdlanders and following Sera's story.

If you're a fan of Fantasy, then this book is definitely for you :) Don't worry all my romance book lovers out there, this book is for you too! The romance is definitely there and I'm sure you'll love the chemistry between Sera and Tor... I know I did ;)
MY RATING:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Pavarti K Tyler is an artist, wife, mother and number cruncher. She graduated Smith College in 1999 with a degree in Theatre. After graduation, she moved to New York, where she worked as a Dramaturge, Assistant Director and Production Manager on productions both on and off Broadway.

Later, Pavarti went to work in the finance industry as a freelance accountant for several international law firms. She now operates her own accounting firm in the Washington DC area, where she lives with her husband, two daughters and two terrible dogs. When not preparing taxes, she is busy penning her next novel.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway: Binding Arbitration by Elizabeth Marx

Promo + Giveaway
Hey!! Thanks for stopping by! This tour is brought to you by: Full Moon Bites Blog Tours. Don't forget to fill in the rafflecopter below for your chance to win:
  • 23 Ebook copies of Binding Arbitration by Elizabeth Marx
  • 3 Tradepaperback copies of Binding Arbitration by Elizabeth Marx

Binding Arbitration
Amazon(Kindle) | Amazon(Print) | BN | iTunes | Sony eReader | Diesel
Author: Elizabeth Marx
Publisher: Self Published  (Nov. 5, 2011)
Genre: Romance, Family Saga, Contemporary/Chick Lit, 477 pages
ASIN: B006423DPW
ISBN-10: 1477470735 
ISBN-13: 978-1477470732

SUMMARY:
Through the corridors of the Windy City’s criminal courts, single mother Libby Tucker knows exactly how far she’ll go to save her cancer-stricken son’s life. The undefeated defense attorney is prepared to take her fight all the way to the majors.

Circumstances force Libby to plead her case at the cleats of celebrity baseball player Banford Aidan Palowski, the man who discarded her at their college graduation. Libby has worked her backside bare for everything she’s attained, while Aidan has been indulged since he slid through the birth canal and landed in a pile of Gold Coast money. But helping Libby and living up to his biological duty could jeopardize the only thing the jock worships: his baseball career.

If baseball imitates life, Aidan admits his appears to be silver-plated peanuts, until an unexpected confrontation with the most spectacular prize that’s ever poured from a caramel corn box blindsides him. When he learns about his son’s desperate need, it pricks open the wound he’s carried since he abandoned Libby and the child.

All Libby wants is a little anonymous DNA, but Aidan has a magical umpire in his head who knows Libby’s a fateball right to the heart. When a six-year-old sage and a hippy priestess step onto the field, there’s more to settle between Libby and Aidan than heartache, redemption, and forgiveness.

MY REVIEW:
Binding Arbitration is one helluva book. This book had me on edge with many different emotions. I Was happy, then sad, then happy again... oh can't forget a little feisty either. Libby & Aidan's story is compelling and keeps you hanging on til the very end.

I absolutely love all the characters. Even the snotty ex fiancee that comes prancing around with her lack of a brain and rejuven-- never mind, that's a spoiler all its own. The banter between all the characters is hilarious and its not just banter between the main characters, oh, no! Elizabeth Marx doesn't leave her other characters hanging in the background. Another thing I loved about this book was the connection between Aidan and Libby. They had a complicated relationship in college (you know, that "just friends" kinda relationship) but they both harbored stronger feelings for each other then they let on. It was both frustrating and cute to follow along with Libby & Aidan's story, but they way they can just gravitate towards each other was just.... so.... *sigh* I also loved Cass's, Aidan & Libby's son, character. It's been a while since I've read a book where a child played a big part in a book and Cass's character was sweet and funny. There wasn't much about this book I didn't like. I felt I connected with the characters and was hooked right from the beginning. Now, let me just take a minute here to drool over Mr. Pole-ow-ski (book ref) Wheew. Aidan is an Alpha Male through and through. I just wanted to eat him up! Laawd. I need to do a little batting practice with his sezzy self!

I would most definitely recommend this book. If you love yourself a good contemporary romance, then this book is for you. All you baseball fans will love this book too! All the baseball refrences were not lost on me! I devoured every single word :) When I first picked up this book, I got to about the third or fourth page, before I read the words "cutter" and "jock" and I immediately stopped reading and looked through my eBooks and found Cutters vs. Jocks by Ms. Marx & delved into that first. SO, before you pick up Binding Arbitration, go ahead and get Cutters vs. Jocks, which is the prequel to Aidan & Libby's story. Though Marx does clearify things in Binding Arbitration that were mentioned in Cutters vs. Jocks, do yourself a huge favor & read about what happens 6 year earlier. You won't regret it!

MY RATING:

ALSO CHECK OUT CUTTERS VS. JOCKS:

On the idyllic campus of Indiana University, Little-Libby-Nobody runs into Band-Aid, All-American-Athlete, and fireworks explode. Libby and Aidan spiral into a collision course of love at first sight versus lust you can’t fight. As the game plays out and their affection grows, they soon realize that labels like cutters and jocks can’t keep them apart.

But when Libby and Aidan find themselves in trouble they have to confront the reality of where they each fit in the others’ world. Libby believes superstar jocks don’t take cutters to Rose Well House, in the center of campus, at midnight and pledge their undying devotion beneath its sparkling dome. And Band-Aid imagines there’s no place for a pregnant, small-town waitress in his bull-pen or the major leagues. What happens when worthy opponents refuse to play their hearts out?




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Windy city writer, Elizabeth Marx, brings cosmopolitan life alive in her fiction—a blend of romance, fast-paced Chicago living, and a sprinkle of magical realism. In her past incarnation she was an interior designer, not a decorator, a designer, which basically means she has a piece of paper to prove that she knows how to match things, measure things and miraculously make mundane pieces of furniture appear to be masterpieces. Elizabeth says being an interior designer is one part shrink, one part marriage counselor and one part artist, skills eerily similar to those employed in writing. 

Elizabeth grew up in Illinois, but has also lived in Texas and Florida. If she’s not pounding her head against the wall trying to get the words just right, you can find her at a softball field out in the boonies somewhere or sitting in the bleachers by a basketball court. Elizabeth resides with her husband, girls, and two cats who’ve spelled everyone into believing they’re really dogs.

Elizabeth has traveled extensively, but still says there’s no town like Chi Town.


Friday, September 21, 2012

Blog Tour: Promo + Giveaway: Binding Arbitration by Elizabeth Marx

Promo + Giveaway
Hey!! Thanks for stopping by! This tour is brought to you by: Full Moon Bites Blog Tours. Don't forget to fill in the rafflecopter below for your chance to win:
  • 23 Ebook copies of Binding Arbitration by Elizabeth Marx
  • 3 Tradepaperback copies of Binding Arbitration by Elizabeth Marx

Binding Arbitration
Amazon(Kindle) | Amazon(Print) | BN | iTunes | Sony eReader | Diesel
Author: Elizabeth Marx
Publisher: Self Published  (Nov. 5, 2011)
Genre: Romance, Family Saga, Contemporary/Chick Lit, 477 pages
ASIN: B006423DPW
ISBN-10: 1477470735 
ISBN-13: 978-1477470732

SUMMARY:
Through the corridors of the Windy City’s criminal courts, single mother Libby Tucker knows exactly how far she’ll go to save her cancer-stricken son’s life. The undefeated defense attorney is prepared to take her fight all the way to the majors.

Circumstances force Libby to plead her case at the cleats of celebrity baseball player Banford Aidan Palowski, the man who discarded her at their college graduation. Libby has worked her backside bare for everything she’s attained, while Aidan has been indulged since he slid through the birth canal and landed in a pile of Gold Coast money. But helping Libby and living up to his biological duty could jeopardize the only thing the jock worships: his baseball career.

If baseball imitates life, Aidan admits his appears to be silver-plated peanuts, until an unexpected confrontation with the most spectacular prize that’s ever poured from a caramel corn box blindsides him. When he learns about his son’s desperate need, it pricks open the wound he’s carried since he abandoned Libby and the child.

All Libby wants is a little anonymous DNA, but Aidan has a magical umpire in his head who knows Libby’s a fateball right to the heart. When a six-year-old sage and a hippy priestess step onto the field, there’s more to settle between Libby and Aidan than heartache, redemption, and forgiveness.

ALSO CHECK OUT CUTTERS VS. JOCKS:

On the idyllic campus of Indiana University, Little-Libby-Nobody runs into Band-Aid, All-American-Athlete, and fireworks explode. Libby and Aidan spiral into a collision course of love at first sight versus lust you can’t fight. As the game plays out and their affection grows, they soon realize that labels like cutters and jocks can’t keep them apart.

But when Libby and Aidan find themselves in trouble they have to confront the reality of where they each fit in the others’ world. Libby believes superstar jocks don’t take cutters to Rose Well House, in the center of campus, at midnight and pledge their undying devotion beneath its sparkling dome. And Band-Aid imagines there’s no place for a pregnant, small-town waitress in his bull-pen or the major leagues. What happens when worthy opponents refuse to play their hearts out?




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Windy city writer, Elizabeth Marx, brings cosmopolitan life alive in her fiction—a blend of romance, fast-paced Chicago living, and a sprinkle of magical realism. In her past incarnation she was an interior designer, not a decorator, a designer, which basically means she has a piece of paper to prove that she knows how to match things, measure things and miraculously make mundane pieces of furniture appear to be masterpieces. Elizabeth says being an interior designer is one part shrink, one part marriage counselor and one part artist, skills eerily similar to those employed in writing. 

Elizabeth grew up in Illinois, but has also lived in Texas and Florida. If she’s not pounding her head against the wall trying to get the words just right, you can find her at a softball field out in the boonies somewhere or sitting in the bleachers by a basketball court. Elizabeth resides with her husband, girls, and two cats who’ve spelled everyone into believing they’re really dogs.

Elizabeth has traveled extensively, but still says there’s no town like Chi Town.


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