Feature & Follow #7

Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted by, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. Each week, each host will have their own Feature Blog which allows them to show off more new blogs! It is a fun way to keep in touch with fellow bloggers, meet new bloggers and gain new followers.

This Weeks Question Is:

What would you do over if you were to start your blog again from scratch?

Oh gosh.. Well let's take a trip shall we??

*Sets the time travel machine to May 10, 2012* 

(YEEEES, I'm well aware that I've only been blogging for 3 months, today YAAAAY)

*Presses Time Traveling button*

Yeeeeah... that wasn't fun.. no more time traveling folks >.<

Okay.. back on track.. May 10th... right, right.. I would probably post more. When I first started my blog, I would post every couple of days. Sometimes once a week. I still haven't gotten to the point where I post everyday.. BUT, no need to fear, I'm working on that slight defect as I type (and as you read this) ^_^ I'm telling you.. I'm getting better. I actually posted TWO reviews in ONE day... yuuup you heard me right.. ONE DAY!! That's a freaking record for me! I should so be in the Olympics right now... Where's my Gold Metal at though?

Yupp. This is how I would react if I won Gold...

So, that's pretty much what I would change if were to go back in time & start my blog from scratch. I'm pretty content with everything I've done so far, but as for posting.. yeah.. definitely need to step that up and ASAP. What would you do differently?

Blog Tour: Promo Blitz for Dreams of Reality by Sylvia Hubbard

Promo Blitz

Thanks for stopping by! This tour was brought to you by: Full Moon Bites Blog Tours

Dreams of Reality will be FREE August 9^th & 10^th!

Title: Dreams of Reality
Author: Sylvia Hubbard
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, Suspense
Publisher: Self-Publisher
Ebook Pages: 188

Purchase: Amazon

BOOK DESCRIPTION: 

Skye Patterson - 24-year old entrepreneur trying to make her way in the world all by herself since she was orphaned at birth - finds herself the victim of a mind controlling substance.

Moving to Detroit, was a big step emotionally, but she never thought it would be a big step mentally. The mind controlling drugs invade her life enveloping her in a world she never thought she could experience and a love that was too good to be true with one of her clients,

Thaddeus Newman, a powerful construction business owner. When she begins to experience the too real dreams she tries to convince herself they are not real, but as the dreams become more vivid, she delves deep into a world of pimps, businessmen, doctors, and murder, until she finds out what is really happening to her. With Thaddeus by her side, she is able to face her reality and conquer her fears. Dreams of Reality touches on the new age drug, GHB in the revitalization of Motown, where a woman tries to make it alone and finds that in order to survive she has to make her dreams of love, into dreams of reality.

Review: Lol by Charlie Nitric

LOL
Amazon | GoodReads
Author: Charlie Nitric
Publisher: Self Published (March 13, 2012)
Genre: Comedy, 78 pages
ASIN: B007N714ZS

SUMMARY:

Charlie Nitric is an eclectic writer, whose stories will keep you entertained for hours. In his debut collection of shorts, he takes the reader on a roller coaster of hilarious life experiences.

Still very much a kid at heart, Charlie is constantly observing the world around him. Then, with the incredible imagination of a child, he plays with those experiences until the unimaginable becomes the imaginable for his readers.

Nitric presents an assorted array of eighteen colorful stories that will undoubtedly leave you wanting more. He entertains his readers with his humorous and original storytelling ability. From a good, hearty laughing fest to crying out in anticipation, readers can’t help but become completely mesmerized with whatever he puts before them.

Rich in excitement, each short story is jam-packed with entertainment that will keep you highly amused and eager to jump into the next. “LOL” is the kind of reading that forces laughter to abruptly escape your throat without warning.
Nitric’s debut is filled with writing that is astonishingly relatable (even when it is totally and completely implausible). The author always manages to illicit some emotion or another out of his readers. Whether that emotion is inspiration, frustration, belly-busting laughter, or simply joy, Nitric’s constant goal is to have his readers feel each scene right along with him.

He writes “Strive each day towards your own joy,” encouraging readers to be grateful each day for what they have in their lives. Nitric’s writing is proof that if you take in all the experiences around you and simply let yourself smile about them, life truly is an enjoyable ride. Often times, the cruise is hilarious.

From rodents to dentures to divorces to French kissing, every reader is bound to fall in love with the extremely funny tales in this book.

MY REVIEW:

Hmmm. I didn't find this funny at all. I don't even think it was witty. I picked this book up purely because the title read "LOL" and the reviews claimed this book was practically awesome. I was looking forward to some knee-slappin', tears fallin', stomach hurtin' laughing! I didn't get that... AT ALL! To be honest, I "HA'd" about twice. And it wasn't even "HAHAHAHA" It was "HA" that's it. I rarely (practically never) cracked a smile. I know I can a cold hearted biaaatch sometimes, but... nevermind. Didn't like this book. It didn't make me "Laugh Out Loud" and it wasn't very funny. 

Wouldn't recommend this book. 

MY RATING:

ARC Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

*Received Through NetGalley*

Pushing the Limits

Amazon | GoodReads | B&N

Author: Katie McGarry

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publish Date: July 31, 2012

Genre: YA, Contemporary Romance, 416 pages
ISBN-10: 0373210493
ISBN-13: 978-0373210497

*This book is part of my NetGalley/Edelweiss KO Challenge for Aug.*
                        

SUMMARY:

 No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.
Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

MY REVIEW:

Having been through a traumatic event in her life, Echo finds herself wanting to know what happened that night she ended up in the hospital, fighting for her life. What she wants? To be normal again. And she isn't finding normal going back to her douche ex boyfriend, nope, not that dumb jock. But bad-boy Noah Hutchins, leather jacket wearing, weed smoking, butterfly pterodactyls making boy whom Echo finds total and utter peace with. But Echo isn't the only one with problems, no siree. Noah Hutchins used to be that all star kid with popularity running through his veins, up until losing both his parents in a fire and placed into foster care. Noah finds himself jumping from foster home to foster home, losing himself with each passing day. The only thing making him try? His brothers... and Echo.

I absolutely loved this book. It kept me turning the page in anticipation. Gahh. If Noah Hutchins was real... and a bit older, I would be all over that and STAT! Noah Hutchins is a bad boy with a heart of gold. Slacker ways but the most beautiful brown eyes that show the most caring you'll ever need! *sigh* I'm telling you.. sigh now, and prepare to do a lot more sighing when you read this book! Noah Hutchins will pull at your heartstrings ladies! We're first introduced to Echo in the beginning of the book, talking with her counselor/therapist/psycho driver and afterwards runs into Noah, whom exudes badass with ease. I found Echo to be really weak. I understand she's been through some shit and has lost nearly everything in her life, but my gaaawd! Grow a back bone! She practically let herself be talked into certain situations where a simple "no" would have sufficed. But, no. Because she's the victim and will forever play the victim, she'll lay down and play dead when you tell her to. Her friends? What friends? Don't even wanna walk down that alley. I loved this book, but the characters drove me nuts! Which then made me love the book even more. But seriously? The adults in this book needed some major smacking around a time or two. 

What I liked about this book was that it was really easy to read. Aside from the heart-wrenching moments and the sighing (YES, MORE SIGHING!!), Ms. McGarry really knew how to draw you in AND keep you in. Yeah, I disliked the adults with a passion. Yeah, I wanted to throw a fit and smack some sense into some of the characters. BUT, I wouldn't change a thing about this book. The character speak to you, the words practically pop out and paint a vivid image for you, making you want to reach in and do a lot of cooing and cuddling to ease the pain going on. What I didn't like... well, this should be obvious. THE ADULTS. Seriously, not adults at all. I'm not even going to go into more detail with that one. 

I would definitely recommend this book. It's heart-wrenching and totally throws some perspective in your eyes. If you don't mind a few of your heartstrings being plucked at, or keeping a box of tissues by you, then by all means, go out and get this book! You wont regret it.

MY RATING:

Random Rants #8

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 do not pertain to books.

Wheeew. Okay, This is a bit late, today was a purrrty busy day, but I'm posting now  ^_^

 ELOTES

Ahh. I absolutely love Elotes. What are Elotes you ask? Well, I'll tell ya! Elotes is the Mexican name for corn on the cob. It's a popular street food in Mexico.... and SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA! xD Seriously, you can't go 5 blocks without running into your local elote lady/guy ^_^ Well, every Sunday we go to the laundry mat to you know, wash laundry >.< And there's a lady that lives next door to the laundry mat and she sells elotes... *sigh* best elote I've ever had. It's pretty simple to make, but everytime I make it, I swear it just doesn't come out as great as this ladies!! So she slathers mayonnaise on your corn, then she sprinkles a shit load of Parmesan cheese over that, then she'll ask if you want chili powder... and your answer should be YES!! always yes! hehe. Then she'll ask if you want butter... now it's good with or without the butter, but today I had butter ^_^ laaawd I'll be working that off tomorrow >.< but it was so worth it.. It's messy as hell so make sure you have tons of napkins with you :) 

*Click To Enlarge Photo*

FAMILY**This is me trying to share a little bit about my private life with you all :)**

I absolutely love my family. This past week, I took a lil trip  (seriously... little trip. Took all of 7 min to get there) to visit my babies! Not MY babies, lol, but my lil cousins. There's 6 of them and they're all little runts! The eldest is 14 and the youngest just turned 1 a few months ago. Since they were babies, I've been taking care of them.. Mind you, when the eldest was born I was 7, but she will always be a baby in my eyes. So that means, when I see her texting up a storm to some boy, best believe I will confiscate that phone and make her play with dolls! xD lol. kidding. *sigh* they grow up so fast. Anywho, every time I visit, they just come bounding out the house and into my arms screaming "Ana's here!!" Why, yes! I left my book world behind and decided to visit you monsters! I'm just gonna keep this short and share a few videos of my youngest monster! Her name is Ezette Khaylee, but we call her Znoni or Baby Noni.

This is when she was 5 months... I think lol ^_^

This is her on 4th of July. She's 1 here

NO, that isn't me laughing at her. I wasn't there that day. My sister is recording, she tends to shoot footage of the monsters when she goes to visit them.

Boo Boo = Stupid. If you can hear her, Baby Noni says "Boo Boo" after the fire crackers scare her ^_^ She's so adorable.

Well, that's it for this week ^_^

What's In My Beach Bag #6

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

O.o okay... I didn't BUY anything this week.. but I was click-happy -____- I believe my mouse went into a coma for a good while. lol Here's what I got ^_^

Received For Review:

Review Soon To Come

Review Soon To Come

Review Soon To Come

Review Soon To Come

♥Thanks to Harlequin Publishing over at NetGalley for Mark of the Witch, The Lost Prince and Shades of Temptation
♥Thanks to Atria Books Publishing over at NetGalley for Beautiful Disaster

Free From Amazon:

*Click On Covers To Take You To Amazon*

That's it for this week, what did you get? :)

ARC Review: Moonglow by Kristen Callihan

*Received through NetGalley*

Moonglow
(Book #2 in the Darkest London series)
Amazon | GoodReads | B&N
Author: Kristen Callihan
Publisher: Forever
Publish Date: July 31, 2012
Genre: Paranormal Romance, 432 pages
ISBN-10: 1455508586
ISBN-13: 978-1455508587

*This book is part of my NetGalley/Edelweiss KO Challenge for Aug.*
                        

SUMMARY:

Once the seeds of desire are sown . . . Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to Daisy's door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors . . .

Their growing passion knows no bounds . . . Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask the villain draws them closer together, Daisy has no choice but to reveal her own startling secret, and Ian must face the undeniable truth: Losing his heart to Daisy may be the only way to save his soul.

MY REVIEW:

After being attacked in an alley by a creature that resembles both man and wolf, Daisy Ellis Craigmore finds herself in the arms of Ian Ranulf, Marquis of Northrup. Daisy soon finds out that this thing that attacked her was a werewolf, a sick, dying werewolf that has been killing women that carry her personalized perfume scent upon their skin. And just who is this Ian Ranulf that is determined to keep her within an arms length and safe from this vile creature? A Lycan, who can't help but find the recently widowed Daisy Craigmore attractive & all his. 

Wheew. Okay. Totally stepping away from my vampire addiction and tooootally falling for this Lycan business! This book was extremely good & aside from me reading this series out of order (and hating myself for going against my OCD self), I didn't feel that I was missing anything while I was reading. Given, there are certain things that were said that totally gives away the first book, but nothing that will keep me from reading it, as I still want to know the details of what happens. Ian Ranulf *sigh* Ian is a Lycan and a mighty sezzy Lycan at that. After living the last 30 some years bedding whores with the resemblance to his late wife, Ian finally finds a woman who awakens him and makes him feel all over again. The problem? She's human & he doesn't want to lose her. Ian will keep her safe and away from this sick werewolf that has her sent stuck up his nose. How?  Pure alpha male force of course... Okay, maybe not so forceful, but her options sure are limited with him. Daisy on the other hand will have none of this nonsense from Ian and battles him back wit for wit when the overbearing, sezzy lycan tries to corner her. This book.. If I could go back in time... and jump into a carriage to get down and dirty... I SO WOULD! 

What I liked about this book is that there's not just lycan's and werewolves, but GIMs, elemental witches, and... well, that's giving away too much. Now, I wouldn't really be into all this, as I've only read one series I absolutely loved with more than one kind of supernatural being in it, but this one really worked out. You knew there were supernaturals at work here, but it was really subtle and not overbearing like "I AM DRACULA AND I WILL SUCK YOUR BLOOOOOD" kinda nonsense on every page. What I didn't like was the slow trot to the sezzy scenes. *sigh* I felt like I was feeling all the tension and build up that Daisy was going through too! Practically screaming for Ian to "Huuur up and stick it in!!" Okay, not all that.. but you know what I mean. 

Definitely recommending this book. BUUUUUUUT before you read this book, go on ahead and pick up Firelight (Book #1 in the Darkest London series) There's also a third book in this series called Winterblaze, release date: sometime in 2013.

MY RATING:

Review: Texas Bride by Joan Johnston

Texas Bride
(Book #1 in the Mail-Order Bride series)
Amazon | GoodReads | B&N
Author: Joan Johnston
Publisher: Random House Publishing Groups (March 27, 2012)
Genre: Western Romance, 384 pages
ISBN-10: 0345527445
ISBN-13: 978-0345527448

SUMMARY:

HE MAY BE HER ONLY HOPE.
SHE MAY BE HIS LAST CHANCE.

Miranda Wentworth never imagined becoming a mail-order bride. Now marriage to a stranger is her only hope of finding a home where she and her two younger brothers can escape the brutality of the Chicago orphanage where they live. With any luck, she can even start a family of her own, once the three of them are settled at Jacob Creed’s Texas ranch. But Miranda has one gigantic concern: Her husband-to-be knows nothing about the brothers she’s bringing along. What if he calls off the deal when he discovers the trick she’s played on him?

Jake Creed is hanging on to his Texas ranch by his fingernails. His nemesis, Alexander Blackthorne, is determined to ruin him. Jake will never give up, but he’s in desperate trouble. His wife died six months ago in childbirth, along with their stillborn son, and his two-year-old daughter needs a mother. The advertisement Jake wrote never mentioned his daughter—or the fact that he has no intention of consummating his marriage. He’s determined never to subject another wife to the burden of pregnancy. But Jake doesn’t count on finding his bride so desirable. He doesn’t count on aching with need when she joins him in bed. And he never suspected his bride would have plans of her own to seduce him.

MY REVIEW: 

Becoming a mail-order bride was the only option left for Miranda Wentworth. The only option that was good enough to get her and her siblings out of the Chicago orphanage and out of that horrid Mrs. Birch's grasp. About to turn 18, Miranda has no other choice but to leave the orphanage, in which she and her five siblings took shelter for the past three years since the fire burned down their house and  claimed the lives of both their parents. Jacob Creed, puts out a notice for a mail-order bride a year after the love of his life passed away taking with her their stillborn son. Needing a mother for his 2 year old daughter and a woman to tend to his house, Jake has no intentions of falling in love with Miranda Wentworth, or bedding her for that matter. 


Oh. My. Gosh. I absolutely loved this book. Joan Johnston never fails to pull on my heartstrings with her words & amazing characters. When I first heard about Texas Bride and after reading an excerpt, I automatically knew I was going to fall in love with this book. Miranda is a loving and caring woman with  a heart of gold but she lacks experience in the love making area, but nevertheless has no problem stirring up emotions and a need so fierce within Jacob. Jacob Creed, with a heart that is still on the mend, has it set in his mind that the woman he took on as a mail-order bride is going to be nothing more then a mother to his growing daughter. Marriage in name, but not in the heart. Sad right? Yeah, that's what I thought, until I started reading ^_^ With each turning page, I was getting more & more engrossed in the book. This book made me laugh, cry and angry. *sigh* I was just an emotional roller-coaster.


What I liked about this book, was Miranda's background. Having taken over as parental figure for her younger siblings at the age of 15 is tough. Imagine that, caring and enduring the pain of 5 younger siblings, knowing that you could only do so much about it. And then making the tough decision to marry a man you've never met to try and carve out a better life for your family. Yeah, this definitely got me. Miranda is strong willed & doesn't give up without a fight. Great character and an equal match for the stubborn Jacob Creed. What I didn't like was that Jake was still so heartbroken over his late wife & his stillborn son & took a while to love Miranda... and I mean LOVE her & love her good! With doubts running through his head about possibly impregnating her practically drove me mad. I just wanted to throw the book at him & scream "She isn't your late wife!" with a few obscenities following, but Miranda took care of that for me... minus the obscenities of course.

I would definitely recommend this book. If you love western romances then I suggest you pick this book up! Haaawt & sizzling cowboys are definitely my kind of R & R. This book is the first in the series and I cannot wait to read the next book where we catch up with one of Miranda's sisters. 

MY RATING:

Review: The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter

The Darkest Night
(Book #1 in the Lords of the Underworlds series)
Amazon | GoodReads | B&N
Author: Gena Showalter
Publisher: Publisher: HQN Books (January 1, 2010)
Genre: Paranormal Romance, 379 pages
ISBN-10: 0373775229
ISBN-13: 978-0373775224

SUMMARY:

All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she'll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member--a man trapped in a hell of his own.

Neither can resist the instant hunger that calms their torments...and ignites an irresistible passion. But every heated touch and burning kiss will edge them closer to destruction--and a soul-shattering test of love....

 MY REVIEW:

Ashlyn Darrow can here voices, voices of conversations that have passed in any given location. When she hears of angels on a hill in Budapest, Ashlyn sets out to find these men to see if they can help her get rid of the voices that have been plaguing her since she was a little girl. What she wasn't expecting, was to find herself in the mist of  warriors with demon's trapped inside of them, or that she could feel something for this warrior/demon with amethyst eyes. 

There are times when you wish you could read slower... this was that time for me. I forced myself to read this book as slow as possible, but instead, I zoomed through it like a match was lit under my ass. I absolutely loved all the characters in this book, as many as there are, Ms. Showalter definitely made each one unique in his/her own way. In the beginning of The Darkest Night, you're introduced to Maddox, keeper of Violence. Maddox is one of those dark & brooding alpha males, who doesn't love that? The constant battle between warrior & demon, where Maddox is trying to tamp down the demons urge to kill anything and anyone that got in his way and then the sudden change, when his demon started to agree with him, was definitely interesting and kept me wanting more... and surprisingly more of Violence. Kid me not, I like Violence... well, when he started to somewhat get along with Maddox that is. Ashlyn is strong but delicate, which I think made for a great heroine and a very good match for Maddox. She was scared (being a puny lil human, of course she would be) but determined and strong-willed, which I think really added to her character.  

What I liked about this book is that it's different. Completely different from other PNR books I've read. Demons trapped in a warriors body... who woulda thought, right? Seeing the Lords take on these demons within themselves is something else entirely and pretty much makes this series freaking awesome, IMO. Honestly, I wouldn't want to know the Lords or read about them without the demons taking up residence in their bodies, the demons play a very major role here & add that much more flare to the books. What I didn't like... Gosh, nothing?  Zip, nada, zilch! I absolutely loved this book.

I would definitely recommend this book! Read it NOW! You're missing out. I know I was ^_^ If you love you some PNR or some sezzy warriors with demons that tend to lash out every now and again, then I suggest you jump on this bandwagon & get to reading! Pronto!

MY RATING:

18 & Over Book Blogger Follow #10

18 & Over Book Blogger Follow is a weekly feature that begins on Fridays and runs through the weekend, hosted by Crystal from Reading Between the Wines. This is a Friday blog hop with the objective to find and visit other book blogs that share the same interest as you, namely books geared towards the 18 & over crowd, and make some new friends!

This Weeks Question:

Please share three books that are in your review pile (and unread) right now.

Wheew. Crystal said "Right now" YES MA'AM! Without any theatrics.. here's three books that are in my review pile ^_^

*Click Cover's to take you to GoodReads*

♥The Booby Trap by Anne Browning Walker - Release Date: Sep. 1

♥Mark of the Witch by Maggie Shayne - Release Date: Sep. 23

♥The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa - Release Date: Oct. 30

What's in your review pile? 

Feature & Follow #6

Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted by, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. Each week, each host will have their own Feature Blog which allows them to show off more new blogs! It is a fun way to keep in touch with fellow bloggers, meet new bloggers and gain new followers.

This Weeks Question Is:

Do your reading habits change based on your mood? Do you read a certain genre if you are feeling depressed or happy?

Hmm. Not really, I tend to just read books that are in the genres I like. If I start up a new book, its more likely to be similar to the book I've just finished ^_^ I'm not an emotional wreck -____-

I can't jump from soppy cry-baby books to...

kickin' ass & takin' names books to...

cute giggly books and then to...

open all the windows and let the cool breeze in books...

It just ain't me!! Anywho, what about you? Do you switch books with your moods?