2011 - Re-Reads

I am usually terrible when it comes to doing re-reads - in the, I re-read far too many books. But this year with one thing and another I have re-read relatively few books throughout the year.

I LOVE this book. This one was a re-read from my early teens. In was one of those books that I loved reading so much the first time around I was scared of reading it now I am older in case it did not live up to my memory of it or I found that I had changed too much to thoroughly enjoy it. I am glad to say I was not disappointed.  Absolutely worth reading again.

Luthiel's Song - Dream of the Ringed Veil by Robert Marston Fanney
I read this once and then I ended up reading it again to find my favourite quotes lol - that's the downside to a kindle. You can't just flick to the page... But it was well worth the re-read. This is a magical and sometimes dark tale.

Mayne Attraction - In the Spotlight by Ann Mauren
Yes, you have heard about this book quiet a few times this yer already but it has also been one of those book I have read *clears throat* quite a few times (OK fine, more than 5 time) during the year. Brilliant fun novel.

Avalon High by Meg Cabot
I love Arthurian legends and I fell in love with this book when I first read it. It's appeal has kind of ebbed through the years but for some reason I still read it at least once a year :)

The Theatre Illuminata series my Lisa Mantchev is one of my favourite series! And with the third book coming out this year I re-read the first 2 while I was waiting :). Just as good the 2nd time around as they were the first

2011 - Books Unfinished

I hate leaving books unfinished. After spending £7.99 on a book (or something around those lines) the last thing I want to do is pack in reading it and be left with it gathering dust. But, this year, some books have indeed been left unfinished by your truly *hangs head in shame*

And, one thing that I have noticed is that the reason for me stopping each of them has been sex. I know that sex is in novel (duh) I have been reading adult fiction since my early teens (don’t tell my mum) so I am well aware it crops up. But it is the way and the whys of this happening that can cause me to put down a book and very rarely pick it back up.

I know that when I read and posted on Outlander by Diana Gabaldon the sex and near rape scene nearly had me packing in the book altogether but I persevered because I cared for the characters and I really wanted to know what was going to happen – and also the scene were often used to forward something and not just a separate scene. But this was not the case with the books I could not complete this year. With 2 of them I just didn’t care what would happen with the characters and with the 3^rd I was too disappointed I think to continue.

So enough garbeling on my part. Time for the books.

Book 1

Siren by Tricia Rayburn

I actually accused this book of killing my love of YA for a while... But it was just soooo UGH!!!! 

Post is here for that one. 

Book 2

White Dawn by Susan Edwards

First, according to the blurb, our heroin is 'rescued' by a trapper. Nope. First she is rescued by an Indian brave who apparently fall in love with her and she with him and then abandon her.
My problem with this was that our heroines father was an evil peace of work who after a guy put the moves on her accused her of being the whore and then abandoned her in the middle of no where.
Now because of this - her father had made her life hell - you would think that the last thing she would do would sleep with someone at the drop of a hat.
Yeah, guess what she does.

*shrug* Maybe I am looking at things the wrong way or whatever but it was enough to have me skim the book, pay attention every 15 pages and get the gist of the story.
Sooo....not my thing.


Book 3

Jane by April Lindner

And here is my let down.
I was so excited about this book. And when I finally had the pennies for it I leapt at my laptop and ordered it ASAP.
And then I read it...well half of it.
I made it as far as this versions 'proposal/admission of love scene' where they ended up in BED!!!!!!! and then I shut it.
Good grief my reasons for stopping these books make me sound like such a snob or something but Jane Eyre has been my favourite novel since I read it. And one of Jane's characteristics was that she was different from everyone else Mr R had ever known. And although I know that this is a retelling and therefore the author may have been gearing it toward the 'modern' audience in which sex before marriage happens, surely the thing that would have made Jane different from Nico's (Mr R) groupies would have been in she had put her foot down. No. Just me.... Ok then.

So there we have it.

Toodles all x

Emily Hendrickson

Miss Timothy Perseveres 

Spending most of her life in the home of her wealthy aunt, serving her cousin as companion and confidant, a lovely young woman is cast out once her cousin marries. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, fate smiles upon her in the form of a wealthy duke, who charges her to look after his injured mother. But little does she realize that her heart and soul can be entranced by her employer so easily.


The Gallant Lord Ives

Shy country girl Alissa Folkes prefers the company of her peregrine falcon and the comfort of sculpturing to handsome London lords. Alissa is content to remain at home, leaving her sister Henrietta to dazzle some of the local beaux and Elizabeth to charm the rest. Yet deep inside Alissa yearns for true love and a hero. She tends her herbs while longing to impress the chivalrous gentleman who is her father's guest, Christopher, Lord Ives. He came to Wiltshire to study Alissa's father's sheep, but he found far more. Rather than the outgoing sisters, he is drawn to Alissa's gentle beauty. Can his love work a miracle to make Alissa bloom?


The Colonial Upstart

When beautiful, talented American Louisa Randolph comes to the Earl of Westcott's estate, she has a good deal to say about English society and its manners. The high-handed lord finds her influence on his family disturbing--but her influence on the earl himself is what most surprises both Louisa and Drew. Regency Romance by Emily Hendrickson; originally published by Signet


Lord Dancy's Delight

When handsome Lord Dancy saves the life of Amelia Longworth three times on the trip to London, she is determined to repay him, and her spirited attempts to protect him soon melt the aristocrat's heart.

These have all been waiting to be posted on for...months. But there is not much to say. They are all fluffy, feel good romances. Where out heroine gets the hero and all who deserve it live happily ever after. 

There is nothing 'deep' about them. I do not mean this in any insulting way it is just that the stories are somewhat predictable. They have a plot but you know the only reason the plot is there is for a romance to come out of it...if that makes sense. 

In some the heroine are pretty drippy in the 'I need a hero to rescue me' kind of way *cough* The Gallant Lord Ives *cough* but then in others the heroine was refreshing but not irritatingly head strong and idiotic, she was clever and knew how to handle herself  - my favourite being Lord Dancy's Delight. 

Fluffy romances :)

Barefoot Heroine (Mayne Attraction) by Ann Mauren

Former CIA agent Ash Ryan has finally found a stress-free dream job. But his life turns bitterly painful when he falls desperately in love with Ellery Mayne, the entrancing but clueless subject of his company’s security contract. This excerpt from the Mayne Attraction series reveals the secret life of Ellery as seen through the eyes of a man who adores her but believes he will never get to meet her.

Yay, my Mayne Attraction fix - hopefully enough to keep me going.

So here we have excerpts from one of the future books that will be told from Ash's point of view and it is filled with some of the cutest, awe and smile worthy thoughts from Ash I have ever read - I am smiling like a loon as I type this that is how cute they are.

"...You’re welcome to whatever you need from me. Any time." A kiss, a hug, a husband … whatever you need.

See!

And one of the best things is that one of the chapters included is Ash and Ellery's first PROPER  meeting told from Ash's perspective - Chapter 17 from In the Spotlight. It was great to read what was going on in Ash's head.

*sigh* Don't you just love reading moments through the hero's eyes?

If you have read In the Spotlight and want a taste of what the next book will be like give this a read, I do not think you will find it a disappointment.

And if you have not read Mayne Attraction... *dangles carrot* It is free on Amazon...

Amazon UK
Amazon US

Smashword - for non-Kindle peeps

Or head on over to Ann Maurens website and read some extracts from In the Spotlight (book 1) if you do not want to be faced with a full novel straight away.

Double Dose - A Prince for Jenny by Peggy Webb & Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens

Woohoo, kind of getting back into the swing of things.

So here are a few books all in one post as I do not have all that much to say about them.

A Prince for Jenny by Peggy Webb

Born special, Jenny, an artist, has had to struggle for every achievement. The things ordinary women take for granted - love, marriage, children- are only a dream for her. When divorced businessman, Daniel Sullivan, brings his children to sit for a portrait, Jenny begins to believe that her prince has finally come. But can Daniel love a special woman without destroying her? Can she withstand the media attention that comes with his high-powered profile? Can she survive the nasty custody battle with his ex-wife? Can there be a fairy tale ending for Jenny and her prince? This unusual love story is one of the author's most heartwarming.


This is a light and fluffy read.
But it is a little too perfect. Things seemed to go just a little too easily.


Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens

Ashlyn: A lonely society princess living in New York City. 
Daddy hired you to be my bodyguard. 
Colin: Childhood enemy, now her protector. 
Daddy thought I’d be safe. He thought I’d never fall in love. He thought he could keep me forever. 
Charles: obsessed with keeping her safe, keeping her his, he hires the one person he knows she could never fall in love with: Colin. 
Daddy was wrong.

After being kidnapped as a child Ashlyn's father has become extremely overprotective of his daughter. She has hardly any friends and is guarded constantly. So of course we have some teenage rebellion thrown in ;).

And yes, this is another one of those books were I was ready to throttle the parents - justifiably I will add - but things (at least with one parent) did get better.

Fun YA read with romance and suspense (kind of).

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian

REVIEW!

Been a while since one of these hasn't it. :) xx

Megan is used to moving from place to place -- it's typical for an army brat. But she drew the line at South Korea. She insists on staying in the States to finish her last two years of high school. So her parents made arrangements for Megan to live with their friends, the McGowans...and the McGowans' 7 sons.

Turns out, living with 7 boys might as well be a foreign country! The boys are messy. They are cliquey (who knew?). And worst of all, two of the oldest boys are H-O-T. (A problem considering they are supposed to be Megan's "brothers.") Megan is definitely in enemy territory. She needs to win over the boys' hearts without totally crushing her own.

And when Megan starts falling for one of them, sibling rivalry takes on a whole new meaning....

What is a girl to do?

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick and enjoyable read - although the ending left a little to be desired, I think.

When Megan's parents are assigned to Korea she puts her foot down, fed up of just going along with her parents wishes and never letting them know when something is bothering her and how much she hates the constant changing that their profession has her doing. So, her parents issue her with an ultimatum - which came up far to easily I think, if two people are about to leave their kid behind I would have thought there would be a bit more emotion attached.

The ultimatum being - Stay with the McGowans or pack for Korea.

You guys all know about my issues with parental figures and books. Thankfully Megan's parents are not around long enough for me to develops anything past a slight dislike for them - if they were around longer I think I would have a strong hate for them. They were far to happy to accepts Megan's word at face value and just for there own peace of mind they asked no more questions once she said 'yes, I am fine'

The McGowan parents were...OK. They were a bit slow on the uptake for setting rules for having this teenage girl around their seven sons. I don't care if there is an attraction between them or not you would think it would be common sense to set some kind of rules.

Some situations I did find a bit hard to get my head round and I found myself rolling my eyes at them - but then that could be just because my personal experiences are different from what is portrayed here.

The McGowan boys are very immature - even down to complaining about Megan's presence and trying to get rid of her (one of them hate her because it is his old room that she is in - very mature!)

But enjoyable and fun.

The one thing that let it down I think was the ending. It was very wishy washy. The kind of ending were things have just seemed to get going and suddenly. BAM. No more story.

I would say a solid 3 of 5. A good quick read but I wish there was an extra 100 or more pages on the page count. And not to sound snobby or anything, some character development and depth would have been nice.

Sad it is Only a CD Cover...(20)

So here it is, the last in the CD cover series.

*sob*

And here is this weeks choice.

Now, I am not sure what it is about this cover but it throws off end of the word and steampunk vibes at me. What do you guys think?


Definitely has a ruined earth thing to it don't you think?

And that is us.

I hope you all enjoyed this little segment. I will be coming up with something else to fill a Friday so don't panic (not that you are or anything) Something new and pretty shall be awaiting you all next Friday.

Before I go though  shall leave you with a picture that didn't fit in the book cover category but it the cover of one of my favorite CDs.

And now for a round up (imagine some melancholy music while you are flicking through this ;))

Why Change the Covers! Why!!!! #2

Hi! Long time no...type huh? I have not been able to get my head round writing reviews lately - there is a lot of real life rubbish going on right now - but to get myself back into the swing of things. TADA *pulls post out of a hat*

You guys may remember a similar post I did some months ago about one of my pet peeves - changing covers!

Well here is another set of books that have had their covers changed.

I do know that some people HATED with a passion the first covers (that I love) but personally I hate the new ones. While one of my friends is the total opposite. She thinks the ones I like are dreadful. Each to their own I suppose ;)

They are all so snazzy and original. They jump out at you.

And now they are THIS!

Hmmm...yeah. I mean it is not that they are terrible or anything...it's just that they don't have that SPARK and uniqueness that the others did. These ones are too much like all the other book covers out there that I could look at it in a pile and nothing would attract me to the cover...

Just my thoughts. :)

.
.
.

And now for my next trick ladies and gentlemen I shall disappear *poof*

Sad it is Only a CD Cover...(19)

I am feeling kind of sad guys that next weeks cover will be the last :(. As I said I was planning on stopping at 10 but then I couldn't so I think 20 is a nice round number to call it quits don't you?

On with this weeks cover.

This is another space cover for you all. Sort of doesn't need explaining :)

See you next week :)

Tune in Tuesday (14)

Tune in Tuesday is a snazzy feature that you can find at GReads and gives you the chance to show off some of your favorite songs or new finds!


A classic for everyone this week I think. :)

Sad it is Only a CD Cover...(18)

I even have a book for this CD Cover.

Howl's Moving Castle!

See what I mean? :)

Giveaway!

Hi everyone, so fancy helping me out and taking pity on my poor groaning book shelves. Some of these book are new and some of them are read. 

They are a mixture of hardbacks and paperbacks. 

There will be 2 winners chosen at random.

The giveaway will end at the end of the month. 

International

Tune in Tuesday (13)

Tune in Tuesday is a snazzy feature that you can find at GReads and gives you the chance to show off some of your favorite songs or new finds!


LOVE THIS SONG! Got to love songs that you stumble across and then can't get enough of. 


Happy listening. :)

The Guardian Duke by Jamie Carie

The Guardian Duke is award-winning novelist Jamie Carie’s most exciting story yet, a uniquely arranged Regency-era romantic adventure where hero and heroine know each other through written letters but have yet to meet.

Gabriel, the Duke of St. Easton, is ordered by the King to take guardianship over Lady Alexandria Featherstone whose parents are presumed dead after failing to return from a high profile treasure hunt. But Alexandria ignores this royal reassignment, believing her parents are still alive and duly following clues that may lead to their whereabouts. Gabriel, pressured by what are actually the King’s ulterior motives, pursues her across windswept England and the rolling green hills of Ireland but is always one step behind.

When they do meet, the search for earthly treasure will pale in comparison to what God has planned for both of them.

Oh dear, this book confused me and I am sorry but this post is going to come of as a bit of a rant.
 *cracks knuckles*

And we're off.

Quick summery for you all.

Gabriel is made Alexandria's (that's ME) guardian when her treasure hunting parents have been missing for a year - for her own protection. Alexandria - of course - thinks that Gabriel is some old, decrepit lord with gout. Alexandria, refusing to believe that he parents are dead heads off to find them wile Gabriel follows behind trying to catch up with her and take her home.

There is an aspect f the story that is VERY random and would have been good if it had been developed further. When Gabriel first hears Alex's name he is mysteriously struck deaf, no reason is given for this. And THEN just as mysteriously it returns and then it  goes on the blink again. Makes NO sense.

Alex is a fun, if sometimes annoying heroine. She knows what she wants to do and she is going to get it done - although he actions did strike me as being highly immature most of the time and selfish when she would lie to get where she needed to be. But on the other side of the coin she was a refreshingly independent (sometimes) character, even if fibbing comes a little too easy to her.

I found it very hard to believe that through  a few letters (where she was FIBBING to put him off her trail) Gabriel fell in love with Alex. This was a little too unbelievable for me.

The genre is Christian fiction but it didn't strike me as fitting into this genre as other books that I have read do. Other than a few mentions of praying there is nothing much on the 'Christian fiction' front. I am sorry if I am maybe pigeon holing the genre but something that defines Christian fiction for me is strong draws on faith and a relationship with God, this are the things that I expect to find. And there was next to none of those things in this. It is clean, sex and language wise, so if that is why it is fitting into the genre...I don't know.

And the thing is (and this as the icing on the WHAT-THE-HECK cake) that Alex's parents went missing during what is thought to have been dangerous/suspicious circumstances because of what they had been hired to find. Alex knows this. Knows that what she is doing could be dangerous. And she seems to still go around blabbing to all and sundry what she is doing and why. It drove me mad. I was like 'What...What...Sh, shhh, shhhhhhhhhhh. What are you doing? Don't tell THEM. You don't even know if you can trust them' Bugged me!

And then there is the whole 'we are in a rush' thing. But she still makes time to go to a fare and get dressed up and go to parties.

The supporting characters were fun, although there appearances seemed a little too...timely, you know what I mean. E.G. Oh no we have to go to Dublin, what will we do when we get there? Oh, don't worry about that, I have a nephew in Dublin and I have been thinking it is time to pay him  visit - says the dude who came to her rescue when she needed it and just happened to have nothing better to do than tag along. Seriously.

The ending was pretty wishy-washy too. But there is a sequel to closely follow it so hopefully this will set straight all of the issues I have with it. With the way that book 1 ended I am actually wondering if the sequel i going to read as though it was all one big book that was cut in half.

Sooo...I would say 3 stars...no 2.5 stars, no 3! We will stick with 3. It was a quick read that did not drag so although I had all these problems with it I did not feel as though I had wasted eons of my life reading it.

**I received this book in e-book form from NetGalley**

Giggle Sunday

Hello everyone, so I am quickly taking the opportunity to type and post this while the solar flair - or whatever - has my internet working. Stupid thing.

It has been a while since I have had anything to post and I maybe scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one but it seriously nearly had be chocking when I saw it.

I babysit kids on weeknights and I was helping the little girl I look after do her reading.

So we were going through the book and look at THIS. We will ignore the fact that she is setting an uber bad example to her kids by being all sun burnt.

But look at what she is reading.

Danielle Steel!

LOVE IT!!

(What? I told you I was scraping the bottom of the barrel)

Toodles.

In My Mailbox (13)

One book this week, ordered by this little monsters here.

Alien Tango by Gini Koch. Despite not being very happy with Archimedes right now for going behind my back like that I will admit that he has excellent choice in books (shh, don't tell him that)

Follow Friday

Follow My Book Blog Friday

Follow Friday is a weekly Blog Hop that can be found over at parajunkee.com.

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books? Maybe you don’t like love triangles or thin plots? Tell us about it!
Things that bug me about books...umm....

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. I know. Pick me.

Over controlling boyfriends!
I seem to be reading far to many young adult novel lately that have male 'heroes' who seem to be quit happy with making every single decision for their girlfriends as though they cannot think for themselves. And the girlfriend is OK with this! He takes away all of her decision making ability and she will just go along with it. What! Really! Unhealthy relationships much. And then let us not forget the boyfriend leaving the picture for a little while and girly trying to top herself because she can't live without the love of her life. Uh, it annoys me so much I am getting agitated just thinking about it. How the fizz is anything like that healthy. A relationship should be equal, not one person and oh, hey, yeah, you're here too.

Rant over. Wow, feel kind of better now, very therapeutic.